Will North Carolina’s Anti-Gun Governor Stand in the Way of School Safety?

If I had to make a guess, I’d say “yes.” 

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has already vetoed the permitless carry bill approved by lawmakers, but the legislature just sent him another bill that’s likely to fall victim to his veto pen, even though doing so would put some North Carolina students at greater risk of harm. 

On Thursday, the legislature gave its final approval to HB 193, which would allow private schools in the state to authorize teachers or school volunteers to carry concealed on campus; essentially serving as a first line of defense in case of an active assailant. 

The allowance comes with some provisions, however. In order to lawfully carry on private school grounds a concealed carry licensee would have to first receive written permission from the school’s board of trustees or administrative director, and completes an approved 8-hour training course every year. Additionally, the school itself must adopt and maintain “written standard operating procedures regarding the possession and carrying of the weapons” that’s distributed to the parents of students every school year. 

This bill would be a boon to school safety, and Stein should put aside his own hostility towards the Second Amendment and allow these private schools to have armed protection without having to fork out tens of thousands of dollars to hire a single security guard. There are plenty of public schools with dedicated law enforcement on campus, but that’s not really an option for private schools. Allowing screened staff and vetted volunteers to bear arms in defense of students and employees should be. 

Now the question is if Stein will veto the bill, and whether or not it has enough support to become law over his objections. 

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.

Republicans are one vote shy of a supermajority in the state House, so even if Pless were to change his mind, supporters will need to get one Democrat to sign on board or at least step out of the chamber and give supporters the numerical advantage they need to override a veto.

The legislature has yet to try to override Stein’s veto of permitless carry, and at the moment lawmakers are only expected at the statehouse a couple of days each month for the rest of the year. There aren’t going to be many opportunities to get permitless carry on the books, but I hope that one won’t be needed for HB 193. I’m not holding my breath, though, and I hope that supporters of the bill will flood Stein’s office with emails and phone calls urging him to sign the school safety bill into law.