“There’s been a 31% uptick in gun violence from 2019 to 2020. “But one thing that has become crystal clear to me is that gun violence is related to guns - there’s just so many guns happening, being purchased in this country,” he said. Stein said he is on a school safety task force that is making recommendations to schools and school systems. Stein wants to raise the AR-15 age remind people to lock up their gunsĪ meeting participant asked Stein if he is involved in efforts to reduce school shootings. The 2011 self-defense bill passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. And I think the law is - is too loose, and creates incentives for people to shoot first.” The revised law, which Stein described as “stand your ground,” says “that you have a presumption that you were justified, rather than having to prove you’re justified. “You already have a right to self-defense, no matter where you are, where if somebody is coming at you and you have a reasonable fear for your life, or those of your loved ones, you can take action to defend yourself and stop that threat,” he said. Stein was a state senator at the time and he voted against the changes. Instead, he criticized changes that in 2011 expanded the scope of North Carolina’s self-defense laws. Stein said he cannot discuss a specific case such as the Walker shooting. NC law: State has limits on when one may legally use deadly force in self-defense Get the details: No charges will be filed against Cumberland County deputy in Jason Walker's killing Hash fired four shots when Walker lunged at him, the prosecutor’s report said. The prosecutor’s findings were that Walker jumped onto the hood of Hash’s truck, broke off a windshield wiper, began smashing the windshield with the broken-off wiper, then lunged at Hash with the broken wiper after Hash got out of the truck to confront him. The shooting was investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation and an independent prosecutor concluded that this was a case of justified self-defense. AG says ‘stand your ground’ self-defense law goes too farĪ participant asked Stein to discuss the fatal shooting of Fayetteville resident Jason Walker early in January by off-duty Cumberland County Sheriff Deputy Jeffrey Hash. Stein, a Democrat in his second term, made the comments as the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Fayetteville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The meeting was conducted via the online Zoom streaming chat service, with Stein calling in from out of town. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said on Sunday the state’s self-defense law is “too loose,” that gun laws should be tightened to reduce gun violence and school shootings, and that politicians shouldn’t tell women when they may get abortions. Stein on Sunday, July 24, spoke via the Zoom online service to the Fayetteville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In this file photo from June 2022, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks in Fayetteville.