Churchgoers on school campuses could carry concealed guns

North Carolina lawmakers would carve out a narrow concealed-carry exception for a place of worship on school property. The bill would let people carry a concealed handgun during worship services, funeral services, wedding ceremonies, christenings and other religious gatherings at the site, starting Dec. 1, 2025.

A sanctuary is not just one room

The carveout is written broadly enough to cover churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other regularly used worship buildings. It is not limited to a Sunday service or one denomination’s customs. If the gathering fits the bill’s list of religious functions, the exception would reach it.

The definition of attending goes beyond the chapel door. The bill says it includes ingress and egress between the place of religious worship and its designated parking area, so the protected path would extend from the lot to the service and back again.

A later start for shared campuses

That matters most for campuses where a school and a house of worship share the same ground. The bill creates a narrow lane for those settings, where questions of school safety and religious practice can collide in the same parking lot and hallway.

Until Dec. 1, 2025, the exception would not be in force. After that, the new rule would cover only the situations the bill names, not a general right to carry anywhere on educational property.