A North Carolina candidate for the General Assembly is facing gun charges from an incident last year. Her lawyer said she believes in the Constitutional right to bear arms and protect her household.
Sherrie Young is the Democratic candidate for House District 59, currently held by incumbent Republican Rep. Jon Hardister. Hardister, of Whitsett, is in his fifth term in the House.
Young is charged with two misdemeanors in Guilford County stemming from a November 2021 incident, according to police and court records. According to the Greensboro Police Department incident report, an officer was called to Ian Drive on the night of Nov. 7, 2021, for someone discharging a firearm. The firearm was a handgun, the reports states. There were no reported injuries related to the incident, and the victim listed was “state of North Carolina.” The only witness listed was the officer.
The charges are a misdemeanor for discharge of a firearm in the city limits, which violates a local ordinance. The other misdemeanor is “going armed to the terror of the people.”
Young is scheduled for a court date on Sept. 12, as first reported by the Rhino Times. Her lawyer said that court date will be automatically continued for administrative reasons to a future date when there will be a hearing.
“She believes in her right to bear arms, and her right to protect herself and her household from unlawful intruders,” said Jason L. Keith, Young’s lawyer.
Keith said he wouldn’t get into specifics of the case beyond that “she believes in her Constitutional right to bear arms and protect her household.”
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to keep and bear arms. Gun rights are generally a Republican political issue.
Rep. Robert Reives, the House Democratic leader from Chatham County, who is running for reelection, declined to comment on Young’s charges. Rep. Ashton Clemmons, a Guilford County Democrat running for reelection, did not respond to a message from The News & Observer.
House Republican Caucus Director Stephen Wiley said the district is a swing seat that top-of-ballot Democrats have won in the past. Wiley thinks it’s “a big issue” that Democrats have not said anything publicly disavowing or condemning Young’s charges.
“Pending charges shouldn’t in themselves preclude anyone from running for office. What makes Sherrie Young’s case different is what she’s being charged with is pretty significant,” said Wiley.
“I’m not worried about Representative Hardister winning, but in a district like this when the margins are going to be small, this is not nothing that this woman is going to be on the ballot,” he said.
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This story was originally published September 9, 2022 5:21 PM.
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