North Carolina Republicans have filed a pro-Second Amendment bill that would repeal the state’s handgun permit requirement and reduce the number of years that people convicted of nonviolent crimes must wait before seeking to have their gun rights restored. GOP state Sens. Danny Britt, Jim Perry, and Todd Johnson, sponsored Senate Bill 687 (pdf), which was filed on April 7 and the following day referred to the Committee On Rules and Operations of the Senate for consideration. The bill seeks to lower from the current 20 down to 10 the number of years North Carolinians convicted of nonviolent felonies must wait from the moment their civil rights have been restored to when they’re eligible to apply to get their firearm rights back. While North Carolina automatically restores a person’s civil rights after they have finished their sentence and fulfilled requirements like parole and fees, some states do not, with implications for the Second …