Bill to bring guns into more places of worship in House committee today

It’s good to know that the North Carolina General Assembly is focusing on the critical matters holding back the state these days — things like laws that might (gasp!) dissuade gun owners from bringing their weapons to their church, synagogue or mosque. Today, the House Judiciary I Committee will take up legislation that seeks to solve the “problem” that arises when places of worship are also home to schools.

Notwithstanding the efforts of the gun lobby, current law generally prohibits gun owners from bringing guns onto school campuses, but it does not bar guns from places of worship — so long as the church, synagogue or mosque does not bar them. Apparently, this dichotomy is acting — heaven forbid — to bar some concealed carry holders from packing heat at worship services where the church, synagogue or mosque is also home to a school. The proposed bill would change this to make clear that gun owners can bring their pieces onto the property as long as it’s outside the operating hours of the school and the place of worship doesn’t say “no.”

In other words, the bottom line effect of this bill if it becomes law will be to assure that more North Carolinians will be carrying concealed weapons to worship services. Sigh….

Is this the biggest deal of the 2017 session? Probably not. But it’s another remarkable example of how far the corporate gun lobby (and the small minority of Americans who are obsessed with guns as virtual holy icons) have come in their never ending effort to make sure killing machines can be found in every nook and cranny of our society.