North Carolina lawmakers enact law letting private schools arm teachers after defeating veto

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, Kyle Ingram and Avi Bajpai, The News & Observer on Jul 30, 2025

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A Republican bill allowing private schools to give teachers and volunteers permission to carry concealed guns on campus was enacted into law after lawmakers successfully defeated Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto.

Stein’s veto of House Bill 193 was overridden in the House first on Tuesday morning. Republicans in that chamber are one seat short of the necessary three-fifths majority, and secured that last vote from Democratic Rep. Shelly Willingham of Rocky Mount, who had previously supported the bill and told The News & Observer that he would vote to defeat a veto should it be issued. By a 72-48 vote, the House voted to break Stein’s veto.

Later on Tuesday morning, the Senate completed the override effort in a 29-19 vote. The two successful votes mean that HB 193 is enacted into law over Stein’s objections.

Also on Tuesday, lawmakers moved to begin overriding Stein’s veto of another major gun bill that would remove the permit requirement for carrying concealed handguns in the state.

The Senate voted to override Stein’s veto of Senate Bill 50, which would allow anyone age 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit, early on Tuesday morning.

Senate Republicans outnumber Democrats 30-20, so they have the required three-fifths majority to override a veto from the governor. The House will also have to override the bill for it to become law.

Current state law requires concealed-carry gun permits that include a background check and firearms safety training, as well as a minimum age of 21.

Stein vetoed both measures in June, saying the Senate bill removing the permit requirement “makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsible gun ownership,” and the House bill allowing concealed carry on the grounds of private schools would make schools less safe.

Republicans earlier on Tuesday morning overrode the veto of the Senate bill in a 30-19 vote, with bill sponsor Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, saying “simply put, it is time to put North Carolina in a spot to join the majority of the states and recognize constitutional carry.”

Democrats were united in opposing the bill.

“Responsible gun owners are crying out for sanity, not chaos,” Sen. Michael Garrett, a Guilford County Democrat said. “They understand that carrying a deadly weapon is not a casual decision — but a profound responsibility that requires training, knowledge and unwavering judgment.”

For either bill to be enacted over Stein’s veto, it will need to be passed by the three-fifths majority in the other chamber.

In the House, the odds of an override of the Senate bill aren’t as likely. House Republicans are one vote short of a supermajority, and at least two Republicans voted against the bill when it passed the chamber earlier this summer. Republican Reps. Ted Davis and William Brisson both voted against the measure on the floor and in a committee hearing, saying that they and constituents in their districts oppose changing the law. And 10 Republicans were absent when the bill first passed the House, so they didn’t vote.

The Senate sent the override to the House, so whether or not they take up the vote today is still to be determined.

When Stein vetoed the House bill in early July, he said, “Just as we should not allow guns in the General Assembly, we should keep them out of our schools unless they are in the possession of law enforcement.”

In addition to Willingham supporting the bill in the House, in the Senate, Democratic Sens. Dan Blue, Paul Lowe and Gladys Robinson all voted in favor when it passed the chamber.