The article highlights the substantive provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, and presents the salient results of a national study which sought to assess the impact of the Brady legislation. It then discusses research on the efficacy and impact of right-to-carry concealed weapons legislation with an emphasis on examining the deterrent value of this type of legislation. The article also presents findings from an exploratory research study conducted by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Center of the Governor's Crime Commission in order to present basic statistical and demographical information on North Carolina's right-to-carry concealed weapons legislation. The article presents a summary of recommendations for improving the permit process at both the state and local levels. Notes, tables, figures, references