NRA-backed lawmakers push to allow storing guns in cars parked at Florida schools

click to enlarge A House panel Tuesday advanced two gun bills, backed by the National Rifle Association, that are reopening a debate about whether people with concealed-weapons licenses should be able to carry guns on school campuses used by churches and store firearms in vehicles on school property. The proposals are being considered a year after gun restrictions, opposed by the NRA, were passed by the Legislature in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. This year, as lawmakers continue to address school security, including the possibility of allowing armed classroom teachers as “guardians,” two proposals that would partially open the door to possession of concealed guns on school property moved forward in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee. Rep. Cord Byrd, a Neptune Beach Republican who is sponsoring one of the proposals (HB 6005), said his bill would help teachers who are trained to be armed school guardians. The bill would allow them to store weapons in their vehicles when parked on school grounds. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer spoke in favor of the bill Tuesday, saying it would protect Second Amendment rights. “The bill corrects a problem with current statute,” Hammer said. “The law allows you to carry a firearm in your vehicle for protections. We are a mobile society.” Under Byrd’s proposal, school districts could ban students from storing firearms inside vehicles on school property. But his proposal would not allow districts to prohibit employees or parents from doing so. The proposal would not affect bans on carrying guns into school facilities or school-sponsored events. A separate proposal approved by the House panel would allow religious institutions to authorize people to carry guns on property that

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