Title: Gun on Educational Property/Stored in Locked Car
Primary Sponsors: Bill Cook, Andrew C. Brock
First Edition Text:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that an adult at a school, community college, or university who has a concealed handgun permit may have a handgun on educational Property, provided the gun is in a closed container in the person’s locked motor vehicle or is in a locked container attached to the motor vehicle and is removed only for defensive purposes.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 14‑269.2(g) is amended by adding the following new subdivisions to read:
“(7) An adult person who has a valid concealed handgun permit issued in accordance with Article 54B of this Chapter or considered valid under G.S. 14‑415.24, provided that all of the criteria listed in this subdivision are met:
a. The weapon is a handgun.
b. The handgun is in a closed compartment or container within the person’s locked motor vehicle or in a locked container securely affixed to the person’s motor vehicle.
c. The person’s motor vehicle is located on the educational property.
(8) A handgun kept in a vehicle in accordance with subdivision (7) of this subsection that is removed from the locked motor vehicle or removed from the locked container affixed to the motor vehicle, provided the handgun is used solely for the purpose of defending the lives of the students, faculty employees, or other people against violent attack on the educational property.”
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 2013.
My take: Perfect. This bill allows parents with Concealed Handgun Permits to pick up and drop off their children from school without running home and disarming first. There is no earthly reason that a CHP holder should be required to be unarmed in her own car when picking her child up from school.
My recommendation: SUPPORT
To see all the proposed gun related bills in the NC General Assembly for the 2013-2014 session, Click HERE
So I get this means you can keep the firearm locked in a container in/on the car. Does this also mean that you can drop off your kids while keeping your weapon holstered on your body while remaining fully in the car? Or must you first put lock it in the container prior to dropping off your kids (arriving on school property)?
The whole point of the law would be to pick up and drop off your child.
Right. I’m with you on that. I guess the way I read it as written is that when I drop off/pick up my child, my weapon had better be in the locked container. Simply having it in my holster on my belt while I remained in the driver’s seat (for the pick up/drop off) would not be permissible.
The ideal scenario I’m thinking of here looks like this:
1. Get up, get dressed, put weapon in holster on belt.
2. Depart home with kids in car to drop off.
3. Drop off kids at school.
4. Proceed about my day.
5. Pick up kids at school.
6. Secure weapon for the evening and go to bed.
As I read the bill, I would have to have step 2a which says “Remove weapon from holster and lock in container in/on car”. Then step 3a which says “Place weapon back in holster on belt.” Steps 4a and 5a would also be the same.
To my thinking, if I have to deholster/reholster to drop off my kids I’m less likely to carry for that situation. Akin to simply avoiding a certain restaurant to avoid the hassle of deholster/reholster for a quick bite to eat.
I’m hoping they at least clarify some of that. For sure, a good topic to email the sponsors about.
Your car is a closed compartment. Simply opening the door for the child doesn’t change that.
They do seem to differentiate between “car” and closed compartment/container. I have a Sneaky Pete case, which completely encloses my handgun, so this bill would work as-is for me. However, as written, I would be a little more worried about a holster that did not completely enclose the handgun…
Anyways, great bill and I certainly hope this and H49 pass, so that I could be completely within my rights to carry concealed all the way to work (leaving the handgun in my parked car at work), and dropping off/picking up my kids at school…
The language “compartment or container” is to handle people who have jeeps and pickup trucks. If you have a jeep, you can lock it in a container that is fixed to the vehicle. Lots of jeep owners do that for valuables anyway. Same thing with pickups. The people who have locking bed boxes can throw a rifle in there.
I hope this passes, handgun laws for legal concealed carry permit holders are way too restrictive and need to be loosened up. After all, criminals are going to carry wherever they want to regardless of the law.
FYI, I have received replies from sponsors of the bill and from the Rules of the Senate Committee. Apparently this bill didn’t make the “crossover” deadline and stayed in committee, therefore it’s considered dead? I see one viable alternative but need help from everyone. HB937 was voted on, passed in house, and now lies in the Senate. Assuming there is movement, the modification to extend educational property, as it already covers college campuses, could be made and sent back to the house. Please let’s get the word out.