It’s only fair.

That has to be any thoughtful North Carolinian’s response to the legislative proposal that the state bestow in-state status on military veterans seeking to study in either the state university system or in a two-year institution like our own Sandhills Community College.

This would give them a significant tuition break, which they surely deserve if anyone does.

Under existing law, active-duty military members based in North Carolina — and their families — already receive in-state designation, even if they came here from elsewhere. But that benefit expires when they leave the military. Further complicating the situation is the fact that the federal GI Bill, which formerly covered both in-state and out-of-state tuition for veterans, has now been reduced to covering only in-state fees.

The change could come at a better time, considering that our colleges and universities already have suffered hefty cuts in funding. Still, it is hard to argue against this small gesture as a way of thanking these young men and women who have already given so much to their country.