Private schools could allow teachers to carry guns under bill passed by NC House
Some North Carolina private school teachers and school volunteers could be allowed to carry guns on campus.
In a 62-44 vote, the N.C. House approved legislation on Thursday that allows private schools to provide written permission for people to carry concealed handguns on campus. Bill supporters said it would help make private schools safer by giving them the option to have someone armed on campus to deal with a school shooter.
“It’s only common sense that when a bad guy shows up with a gun, you don’t want to bring a knife to a gun fight or a stick,” said Rep. Keith Kidwell, a Beaufort County Republican. “You want to bring a gun to a gun fight.’
Bill opponents said it would make private schools more dangerous by having firearms on campus.
“Adding guns on guns on guns to our school environments will only add more carnage,” said Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat. “Guns are already the leading cause of death for students and children in our state, and it makes me so sad that we’re debating this bill in front of a bunch of students that just walked in to watch this debate because we are making their school environments less safe every time we pass a bill like this.”
House Bill 193 now goes to the Senate.
Guns now not allowed at private schools
Guns are not allowed on educational property in North Carolina even if a person has a concealed carry permit.
Bill supporters said the legislation is necessary because private schools don’t have the protection of school resource officers found in many public schools. Local law enforcement agencies typically provide armed school resource officers at public high schools and middle schools and some elementary schools.
Under the bill, a private school can give prior written permission for a “qualified person” to carry a gun on campus. To be eligible, the person must have a concealed carry handgun permit or be exempt from needing a permit, such as a current or retired police officer or an active-duty member of the military.
Lawmakers had also considered allowing public schools to store firearms in newly created “defensive device storage containers” that would be kept in biometric safes. Following an outcry from gun-control groups, House Bill 674 was amended Tuesday to say only non-lethal devices such as tasers and pepper spray can be kept in the containers.
Do teachers want guns on campus?
House Bill 193 drew heated debate.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers said polls show teachers do not support being armed or having more guns on campus.
“Teachers do not want to be armed,” von Haefen said. “They do not want more guns in our schools.”
But Rep. Jay Adams, a Catawba County Republican, said several private schools have asked for the option to arm their staff. He said the impetus was the March 2023 mass shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.
“They do want to have the ability for staff to carry concealed weapons because they’re concerned,”Adams said. “Since the event in Tennessee, their families have been concerned about assaults on Christian schools.”
During Tuesday’s House Education Committee meeting, several GOP lawmakers said teachers support having guns in school, especially in rural areas where it may take longer for law enforcement to respond to an emergency.
“What we’re hearing consistently back from from educators in our districts and also people over private institutions is something is better than nothing,” said Rep. Jake Johnson, a Polk County Republican. “If there’s a bad situation going on, someone who is qualified is better than nothing.”
Will armed staff deter shooters?
Much of the debate during committee hearings on Tuesday and on the floor Thursday was whether a teacher or school volunteer could be reasonably expected to respond to a shooter.
“Even officers who have over 800 hours of training, their accuracy rate is about 35% in a high-stress situation, and now we’re saying someone with eight hours of training can be in school grounds,” said Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat. “If this isn’t close to insanity, I’m not sure what is.”
Morey said the situation could get even worse if lawmakers approve pending legislation eliminating the need for people to get a concealed carry permit.
Rep. Laura Budd, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, questioned how police officers responding to an emergency would be expected to know that the armed person they’re encountering is authorized to carry a gun.
“That dad who had the best of intentions to protect those kids in the school, now he’s dead, because that’s what’s going to happen when law enforcement responds to a perceived threat and they see a firearm,” Budd said at Tuesday’s Education Committee meeting. “They shoot first and ask questions later, in an effort to keep those kids safe, because that’s the environment we live in.”
But Republican lawmakers said the goal is deterrence, and pointed to incidents where armed individuals stopped shootings in churches and malls across the country.
“The bad guys are going to come,” Adams said. “They’re not going to have permits, they’re not going to have any kind of authorization, they’re going to show up. And what we’re talking about here is offering the possibility that they’ll be repelled.”
Allowing night operations at shooting ranges
Another portion of the bill would provide additional protections for relocated shooting ranges operated by law enforcement agencies.
The bill would prevent local governments from prohibiting the range from conducting night operations for law enforcement training purposes if they provide at least 48 hours notice. Rep. Jeff McNeeley, an Iredell County Republican and one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said some property owners were “harassing” a range in Iredell.
“To be the officers that we want all of them to be they have to have night training,” McNeeley said.
But Morey said the concerns of people who live near the ranges also need to be considered.
“We’re mandating that local governments must allow the shooting ranges to have 24/7 night time shooting training purposes, which I think would upset a lot of people in communities,” Morey said.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 1:27 PM.
