AN ACT to exempt from the concealed carry prohibition certain emergency medical services personnel while on duty providing tactical medical assistance to law enforcement in an emergency situation.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑269 reads as rewritten:

§ 14‑269.  Carrying concealed weapons.

(a)        It shall be unlawful for any person willfully and intentionally to carry concealed about his or her person any bowie knife, dirk, dagger, slung shot, loaded cane, metallic knuckles, razor, shuriken, stun gun, or other deadly weapon of like kind, except when the person is on the person's own premises.

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(b)        This prohibition shall not apply to the following persons:

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(10)      Emergency medical services personnel, as defined in G.S. 131E‑155, while on duty, who are deployed as part of their official duties providing tactical medical assistance to law enforcement in an emergency situation, including a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operation. In order to qualify under this subdivision, emergency medical services personnel shall have completed an approved tactical medical assistance course for supporting tactical law enforcement operations. An approved course shall (i) include an element on firearms safety and training, (ii) include instruction in the laws of this State governing the use of deadly force, and (iii) require training and qualification on all weapons systems, both lethal and less than lethal, deemed necessary by any law enforcement agency the emergency medical services personnel supports. For purposes of this subdivision, an approved course shall be any course which satisfies the requirements of this subdivision and is certified or sponsored by one or more of the following organizations:

a.         The North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

b.         The National Rifle Association.

c.         A law enforcement agency, college, private or public institution or organization, or firearms training school, taught by instructors certified by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission or the National Rifle Association.

Every instructor of an approved course shall file a copy of the course description, outline, and proof of certification annually, or upon modification of the course if more frequently, with the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

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SECTION 2.  State and local law enforcement agencies shall provide paramedics rendering tactical medical assistance during a Special Weapons and Tactics operation with the same protective equipment provided to other members of a Special Weapons and Tactics operation.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2021, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.