RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A heartbreaking scene in Minneapolis on Wednesday is resonating with students, parents, and school districts across the country.
Two students were shot and killed, and 17 other people injured in a mass shooting at a church connected to a private school. It’s brought a renewed focus today on keeping students safe.
“What the Minneapolis shootings illustrated most clearly was how easily they could’ve been prevented had an armed security officer been on site,” Paul Valone with Grass Roots NC said.
Supporters of House Bill 193 are hopeful the new law will do just that: keep students safe.
The law allows anyone inside of a private school to be armed if they have written permission from a school administrator, a concealed carry permit, and 8 hours of training. It was initially vetoed by Democratic Governor Josh Stein, but Republicans, who hold majorities in both the House and the Senate, quickly overturned that veto.
Some groups, like second amendment focused group Grass Roots NC, are confident the law will help prevent school shootings.
“Criminals avoid armed victims and if they know that there is potentially an armed staff member, they’re going to displace their violence elsewhere,” Valone said.
But anti-gun groups, including North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, say the law just puts students more at risk for accidental shootings or other tragedies.
“Many times we hear this ‘well a good guy with a gun will stop a bad guy with a gun’ and that just doesn’t happen,” Becky Ceartas, the Executive Director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, said.
She worries the law would actually cause problems for law enforcement responding to emergencies at schools.
“They’re responding to, Heaven forbid, an active shooter… who’s the good guy with a gun vs. the bad guy with a gun?” Ceartas said.
She and other gun violence prevention groups want the legislature to focus on red flag laws and community violence intervention programs instead of putting more guns into schools.
“Barely trained people in a private school would not have stopped the tragedy, the horror, that we just saw in Minneapolis,” Ceartas said.
