Asheville mayor blames laws for gun violence

As Asheville police continue searching for suspects in the July 19 downtown Biltmore Avenue mass shooting that killed two people and wounded seven others, Mayor Esther Manheimer, a Democrat, is using the tragedy to criticize North Carolina’s firearm laws, arguing recent legislative changes have made communities less safe.

The comments came during a July 24 press conference intended to update the public on the investigation. Police repeatedly emphasized that the case remains active, identified several persons of interest, and asked the public for help. No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.

Instead of announcing new investigative developments, much of the discussion shifted to gun policy after reporters asked whether the city had considered restrictions on firearms in bars or other public places.

Manheimer pointed to Senate Bill 50, “Freedom to Carry NC,” legislation approved by the General Assembly this year that would have lowered the minimum age for permitless concealed carry from 21 to 18. Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the measure, and lawmakers have not overridden the veto.

“When the governor was here last week, he talked about how he vetoed a bill that would have allowed people as young as 18 to have concealed carry without a permit,” Manheimer said. “That was a law passed by our North Carolina legislature this year.”

The mayor argued that North Carolina has “relaxed gun laws more and more” and said those policy decisions leave local governments with few options to respond to gun violence.

“So when you have that kind of policy change happening on a state level, supported by a federal government, you leave it up to a community like this to try to deal with gun violence in our community,” she said. “And that’s what we’re grappling with.”

Manheimer, an attorney, also cited North Carolina’s firearm preemption statute, which generally prevents cities and counties from regulating firearms beyond authority granted by the General Assembly.

“In addition, the state of North Carolina preempts local governments from regulating where guns go, for the most part,” she said. She referenced legislation requiring local governments to allow firearms in certain areas of public parks, saying Asheville opposed the law but was required to comply.

She concluded by expressing her own policy preference.

“I think, as a society, we’ve made a decision, apparently, collectively, that we’re going to allow pretty much anyone and everyone to carry a gun, and I think we’re suffering the results of those decisions,” Manheimer said.

“Personally, I would like to see gun ownership and the ability to carry a gun greatly restricted. I don’t think it makes a community safer.”

Investigation centers on retaliatory violence

Police, however, described a very different set of circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Interim Asheville Police Chief Jackie Stepp said investigators believe the attack was “a direct retaliatory act” stemming from a July 5 shooting at an apartment complex.

“The evidence also strongly illustrates that this case is sadly the latest chapter in an ongoing pattern of retaliatory violence that has been taking place across our community for some time,” Stepp said.

Asked whether the violence involved gangs, Stepp declined to characterize it that way.

“I would say these are two groups of individuals,” she said. “I would say there are ties to them knowing each other and committing ongoing retaliatory acts against one another.”

Stepp also confirmed investigators recovered a Glock switch, an illegal conversion device that transforms a semiautomatic pistol into a rapid-fire gun.

“What a Glock switch does, for those of you that don’t know, is it turns your weapon into a rapid-fire, high-capacity weapon,” Stepp said. “And that’s what we saw here. We did recover one.”

She said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has been involved in the investigation “from the onset.”

Policy debate and constitutional protections

The mayor’s remarks highlighted a broader political debate over firearm policy that extends beyond the facts of the Asheville investigation.

Gun rights advocates argue that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution protects “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.”

In recent US Supreme Court decisions, including District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the court held that law-abiding citizens have a constitutional right to possess and carry firearms for self-defense, while also recognizing that governments may continue to prohibit firearm possession by convicted felons and other prohibited persons and regulate dangerous or unusual weapons.

Police urged anyone with information to contact the Asheville Police Department at 828-252-1110 or submit anonymous tips through the department’s mobile app as investigators continue to search for those responsible.

“Asheville mayor blames laws for gun violence” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.