12-02-2025
Huntsville lawmaker says he will support bill requiring parents to lock up guns
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — After a gun went off in a second grader's backpack at Challenger Elementary School last week, an Alabama lawmaker is looking for ways to make sure students are safe while they are at school.
Rep. James Lomax said he plans to support a bill introduced in the Alabama legislature this month that would put more responsibility for gun safety on parents.
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'This was a real scare,' Lomax said. 'This was this was a near-miss, so I think we're lucky that that it wasn't worse. But, I think they're concerned about what we're going to do going forward.'
HB 103, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond, would create a criminal penalty for parents whose child is found to have a gun on a public school campus. If a student brings a gun to school from home, parents would have to prove the weapon was 'reasonably secured' in something like a lockbox or gun safe. Otherwise, they could face a Class A misdemeanor.
Lomax said concerned parents brought the bill to his attention.
'On reviewing it, I said, look, this is a parent responsibility bill,' Lomax said. 'This is a school safety bill. This is something that I absolutely need to put my name on, even if I have got to go across party aisles.'
Lomax also helped secure a $10,000 grant for other security measures.
'My understanding was that they have a really good plan, but some of it hadn't been implemented yet,' Lomax said.
After the incident, Huntsville City Schools increased the number of security personnel and put in place an Evolv weapon detection system that students have to walk through when they get to school. Lomax said he hopes the grant money can speed
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