North Carolina House approves bill that would allow guns in religious schools during church service

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a legislation that would allow concealed weapons in religious schools that are also used for church services.

The state House voted 82–34 on Monday to approve House Bill 174, which would allow handguns at K-12 schools used for church activities when no other school-related activities are being held. Only people with concealed handgun permits would be allowed to carry weapons inside the schools, according to The News & Observer.

During a committee hearing last week, Reps. Darren Jackson (D-Wake) and Graig Meyer (D-Orange) shared their concern that the proposal could cause problems for public schools that rent out space for church services on evenings or weekends.

Rep. Rena Turner, the bill's sponsor, added an amendment on Monday that would exempt public schools "owned by a local board of education or county commission," even if they were rented for a church service.

The amendment dropped a requirement for permit holders to obtain prior authorization from the schools to carry concealed weapons. During the debate last week, Rep. Dean Arp (R-Union) argued that the written authorization would just add to the paperwork for concealed carry permit holders. He stated that schools merely need to post signs if they want to keep guns off their premises.

"The universal answer is, if you don't want it on your property, just post it," he said.

The amendment was passed 114–1, and the legislation is now headed to the Senate.

Turner said that the legislation was requested by a church in her district. She said that some members were worried that the church would be targeted by terrorists because of its overseas missions.

"They feel particularly vulnerable at their services. They want their security team to be able to protect their parishioners if there should be an emergency," she said.

Current state law prohibits weapons from all school properties but allows legal gun owners to keep their weapons inside parked cars.

Democratic Rep. Susan Fisher said that she finds Turner's proposal troubling.

"In general, I am opposed to gun proliferation especially around neighborhoods," she said. "I think that it really presents a danger. The more guns we have, the more dangerous it is. ... This opens the door to all kinds of risks as I see it," she continued.