NC lawmakers agree private schools can let teachers carry guns
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bill allows private schools to approve concealed carry by trained staff or volunteers.
- Schools must adopt written procedures and notify parents before permitting firearms.
- Some Democrats supported the bill; Gov. Stein now decides its fate.
State lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Josh Stein on Thursday that would allow private schools to authorize teachers or school volunteers to carry concealed handguns on campus.
Under House Bill 193, employees or volunteers at private schools would be allowed to carry firearms or stun guns on school grounds if they receive written permission from the school’s board of trustees or administrative director, have a concealed handgun permit, and complete an approved training course.
The bill would also require schools wanting to allow their employees to carry handguns to adopt “written standard operating procedures” for possessing and carrying weapons on school property and distribute those to parents of students.
Republicans and supporters of gun rights have said the bill will make schools safer by giving them the option to have someone on school grounds who is armed and can deal with a school shooter. Democrats and groups that advocate for stricter gun laws slammed the bill, saying the presence of firearms on campuses would make schools unsafe.
The bill initially passed the House in May nearly along party lines, with one Republican, Rep. Mark Pless of Haywood County, voting against it. (Pless did not vote on Thursday, as he was one of several Republicans who weren’t in Raleigh for session, and had excused absences.)
It was subsequently amended by the Senate, where lawmakers approved it in a 29-17 vote that was also largely along party lines. Three Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill: Sens. Dan Blue, Paul Lowe, and Gladys Robinson.
On Thursday, the House took a final procedural vote that was required to agree to the Senate’s amended version of the bill, and send it to Stein.
That vote also fell along party lines, with the exception of one Democrat, Rep. Shelly Willingham of Rocky Mount, joining Republicans in voting to concur with the Senate’s version of the bill and move it forward.
Willingham had previously voted against the bill in May, but he told The News & Observer he changed his mind on the bill after hearing from private schools in his district about the need to have an option for school employees to be armed.
A former police officer in Washington, D.C., Willingham said that personally, he doesn’t “necessarily want guns on campus” and knows “what they can do.” At the same time, he said he supports giving private schools that may want to have an armed employee or volunteer on campus the option to do so.
Should the bill be vetoed, Willingham said he plans to vote to override the veto, as he would continue to support the bill and believe in it.
“If I vote for a bill, if I’m voting to support it, and (if) it goes to the governor, and he happens to veto, then when the bill comes back, I’m going to vote to sustain my vote,” Willingham told The N&O.
During floor debate, most Democrats who remained strongly opposed to the bill said it would make schools less safe.
“Common sense tells you, bringing more guns into schools, where there are children, can only give the probability there will be more accidents,” said Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat. “And if there is a problem, if law enforcement does come in, how will they determine who is the good guy, who is the bad guy, if every employee and volunteer in that school has a gun that’s been drawn?”
Another Democrat, Rep. Carla Cunningham of Charlotte, said she visited schools in rural parts of the state along with a group of other lawmakers that were reviewing school safety, and learned that there were remote or harder-to-reach areas where it could take law enforcement up to 45 minutes to respond to 911 calls.
Cunningham ultimately voted against the bill.
Back in May, when the House first passed HB 193, Rep. Keith Kidwell of Beaufort County, a top gun rights advocate in the House Republican Caucus said, “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. You want to bring a gun to a gun fight.”
It’s the second bill dealing with firearms that GOP lawmakers have sent to the Democratic governor this year.
Last week, Stein vetoed the first bill, a major Republican initiative to remove the permit requirement for carrying concealed handguns that is currently in law.
Republicans have vowed to override the veto, but have yet to hold a vote.
Lawmakers are planning to adjourn Thursday and return for brief one- or two-day voting sessions roughly once a month through the rest of the year, the first of which is expected to take place in late July.
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 1:24 PM.
