The following is a video transcript.
CAN I CARRY MY FIREARM DURING PICK UP AND DROP OFF?
It’s that time of year again when students are returning back to school. If you’re a parent who drives your child to school, can you legally possess your gun while doing so? If you have a concealed carry permit, you are allowed to have a gun on educational property, but only for the purposes of dropping a student off or picking them up at the end of the day. While on educational property, the permit holder must keep their car doors locked at all times, unlocking them only to let the child exit the car or re-enter the car at the end of the day. Other than that, there are very few and very limited circumstances where a person can possess a gun on educational property.
EDUCATIONAL PROPERTY DEFINED
You may be asking yourself, “What is educational property?” Well, under the statute, educational property is defined as
Any school building or bus, school campus, grounds, recreational areas, athletic field, or other property owned, used, or operated by a board of education or school board trustees or directors for the administration of any school.
The definition is very broad and covers many types of facilities and properties.
SCHOOLS HOUSED IN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
What if your student attends a school at a church? Can you legally carry your gun on that property? A fair reading of the statute would seem to indicate that you cannot do so. A trickier question is whether you can carry a firearm at a church that has a school in it at a time when school is not in session and religious services are going on. Again, given the broadness of the statute, in my opinion, you cannot do so. This answer would be the same for after-school programs, daycares, and education centers.
If you have any questions regarding carrying a firearm on educational property, call U.S. LawShield and ask to speak with your Independent Program Attorney.
The post Guns and School Zones: What You Need to Know | North Carolina appeared first on U.S. & Texas LawShield.