As North Carolina lawmakers debate gun restrictions, schools stress safe storage
This story first appeared on NC Newsline.
Gun regulation has been one of the most hotly contested issues at the North Carolina General Assembly this year.
Lawmakers have introduced bills on a myriad of topics: constitutional carry, handguns at private schools and privacy around concealed carry permits, to name a few.
Permitless concealed carry — known as constitutional carry due to the idea that individuals have the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms without infringement — has drawn the most attention.
Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, would allow individuals who are U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age and not otherwise prohibited by law to carry concealed weapons without applying for a permit.
It's backed by Republican leadership and would make North Carolina the 30th state to approve of constitutional carry. The bill has passed the Senate and awaits further approval in the House.
Its counterpart in the lower chamber, House Bill 5, or NC Constitutional Carry Act, is largely the same. This measure still needs approval from the House Rules Committee.
The biggest difference in the legislation is that HB 5 would authorize elected officials in the state to carry a concealed firearm 'while performing their official duties if the official has a concealed handgun permit.' While the State Capitol and Executive Mansion are excluded from this list, it would be allowed at the State Legislative Building and Legislative Office Building, where lawmakers conduct their business.
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North Carolina residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the measures, according to newly released polls. But lawmakers have chosen to move forward.
'There is political play around this policy that is lawmakers in both chambers pandering to the far right extremists and, frankly, being more worried about their own primaries … than they are about the safety of their constituents,' said Monisha Henley, senior vice president for government affairs at Everytown from Gun Safety. 'That is why they've been trying to push it through the legislature at lightning speed.'
A 2022 study from the Crime Prevention Research Center looked at changes in crime and killings of police after adopting constitutional carry. Using data from 13 states, researchers found that the drop in murder is statistically significant, but the change in violent crime is not.
Paul Valone, president of the Grass Roots North Carolina gun rights group, has spent decades working on the issue. He's modeled his advocacy after legislation in Vermont, the first state that didn't have restrictions requiring permits for concealed carry.
'SB 50 and HB 5 are not perfect bills, but they're what's achievable right now,' Valone said. 'Those of us who have spent a lot of time in the movement believe that because we lost our rights over generations incrementally, we will probably have to win them back incrementally.'
The movement has spread to schools. House Bill 193, Firearm Law Revisions, authorizes individuals with a valid concealed handgun permit to possess or carry a handgun on educational property owned, used, or operated by a private school.
The bill's wording would allow anybody lawfully entitled to carry a concealed weapon to do so on the premises of a private school below the college level, with written permission from the school. This could be school officials, teachers, and even students.
'This bill endangers students, it endangers teachers, and people don't want it,' Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) said during a committee hearing. 'You're telling the teachers of North Carolina that we don't really care what you say.'
Coming up Tuesday, members of the House Judiciary 2 committee will discuss The Firearms Liberty Act. House Bill 674 would among other changes allow for the issuance of lifetime concealed handgun permits.
NC S.A.F.E. (Secure All Firearms Effectively), a statewide initiative to raise awareness on storing firearms safely, announced a partnership with the Wake County Public School System last Thursday. NC S.A.F.E for Schools is designed to help school districts across the state share resources about safe gun storage with parents in the district.
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The Wake County Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution in March of last year to 'regularly and consistently' provide families with information and resources on the importance of secure gun storage.
North Carolina experienced at least 12 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2024, resulting in one death and nine injuries. Residents of Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood are still reeling from an October 2022 mass shooting in which a teenager who was able to access his father's firearms killed five people and wounded two others. The teen charged in that shooting spree will go to trial in 2026.
Research has shown that secure firearm storage practices are associated with up to a 32% reduction in the risk of self-inflicted and unintentional firearm deaths.
'As a school system, we have resolved to educate our community on the importance of safe gun storage and its role in protecting students. Whether providing handouts for safety presentations, helpful information for digital communications, or even materials for school resource officers, resources from NC S.A.F.E. have been invaluable to that mission,' Robert Taylor, superintendent of the Wake County Public School System, said in a statement.
For more information, click here for a safe storage fact sheet.
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit news organization.
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