NC Gov. Josh Stein vetoes a bill allowing guns in private schools. Here’s why.

Gov. Josh Stein signed nine bills into law that were approved by the Republican-controlled NC General Assembly, but he blocked several more, including a plan to let guns into private schools.  

Gov. Josh Stein vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have allowed firearms and stun guns in private schools.

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House Bill 193, or the Firearm Law Revisions, would allow for an employee or volunteer of a non-public school to carry a firearm or stun gun if they meet certain criteria. This includes written authorization from the school board of trustees or school administrative director, possession of a concealed handgun permit and completion of a minimum of eight hours of courses on gun safety and appropriate firearm use. 

Read More: Watch North Carolina Rep. Sarah Crawford break down the argument against a controversial GOP gun bill

The bill also states non-public schools that permit weapons must adopt and maintain written standard operating procedures for carrying and possessing weapons on school property that are then distributed to parents. 

“We cannot substitute the protection offered by well-trained law enforcement officers by asking teachers and school volunteers to step in and respond to crises while armed,” Stein said when vetoing the bill. “Just last year, an employee at a religious school in Goldsboro left a gun in a bathroom that was later found by an elementary school student.”

Since 2018, there have been 228 school shootings in the United States with at least one fatality or injury, with 39 taking place in 2024 alone. 

Section 3 of HB 193 would also permit individuals to carry a handgun on educational property if there is also a place of religious worship at that location. This is permitted if it is outside of the school’s operating hours and the person is attending worship services, funeral services, wedding ceremonies, christenings, religious fellowships, and other “sacerdotal functions” in the building.

Stein, however, said he supported section 4 of the bill, which would increase the punishment for an assault or threat against an executive, legislative, court, or local elected officer. He urged the General Assembly to send him “a clean bill with those protections” for officers so he can sign it. 

On the same day, Stein vetoed two other bills – Senate Bill 416 and House Bill 96. He said SB 416 – which would prohibit public agencies from collecting, disclosing or releasing personal information about members, volunteers and donors to nonprofit organizations – reduces transparency and creates more opportunity for dark money. 

While he initially supported HB 96, he said an additional amendment that prohibits local governments from regulating pet stores would “facilitate inhumane puppy mills in North Carolina.”

Along with these vetoes, Stein signed nine bills into law, including Senate Bill 479, which aims to support community retail pharmacies and make affordable health care and medications more accessible. Another bill, Senate Bill 429, made changes to various criminal laws, including increasing penalties for exposing children to controlled substances and allowing people outside of the state to file for a domestic violence protection order.

The other bills include Senate Bill 311, Senate Bill 118, Senate Bill 375, House Bill 850, House Bill 694, House Bill 1003 and House Bill 992.

In the first few months of his term, Gov. Stein has struck a more positive tone in his relationship with the Republican-controlled state legislature, although he’s publicly broken with them on the state’s budget plan, guns, and immigration.

His predecessor, Gov. Roy Cooper, had an at-times acrimonious relationship with the legislature. One sign of the improving temperature was the state House version of the budget, which was closer in tone to what Stein and other Democrats called for.

Read More: North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoes concealed carry and immigration bills