Lawmakers must protect students and teachers from this reckless NC guns bill | Opinion

As an 18-year classroom veteran and the parent of a private school student, I am deeply disappointed that the NC General Assembly passed House Bill 193. The bill purports to increase safety at private schools, but it actually endangers my child and her teachers.

The bill allows individuals with concealed carry permits to carry weapons anywhere on private school campuses with the permission of school leaders. Of special concern to me is the disparity between the training of a school resource officer (over 800 hours of training) and a concealed permit carrier (eight hours).

I’m horrified that a minimally trained volunteer will be making life-and-death decisions around my child. I certainly will not teach in a private school again if this stands. I sincerely thank Gov. Josh Stein for vetoing HB 193. I call on our lawmakers to uphold the veto.

Jennifer Hixson, Charlotte

PAVE tax

There is a better way to provide for the costs of additional transit systems in Mecklenburg County and the Charlotte area than the PAVE tax increase. All one has to do is look at who would benefit the most from transit services.

The answer is those who commute into Mecklenburg County for their jobs but live in surrounding counties where taxes are lower. Perhaps a payroll tax for those commuters would be a more equitable solution to generate the funds necessary to build and enhance transit systems.

Ed Carlson, Charlotte

Wrong objective

The disastrous flooding on the Guadalupe River in Texas is the latest example of a nation with the wrong economic objectives. Texas, like the federal government, is laser-focused on the objective of building wealth. The recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” is the latest example of that prioritization.

Instead of providing minimal expenditures for a previously requested early warning weather system, providing subsidies for wealth enhancement was the priority. Until America’s priorities are more focused on building communities and individual safety and dignity, people will die unnecessarily in the all-consuming quest for wealth.

David Gilliam, Matthews

Thanks, Tillis

I thank Sen. Thom Tillis for upholding his constitutional duty of being a co-equal part of government, voting for his constituents and pushing back against the political mob boss that Donald Trump has become. Please continue to hold him and his administration accountable to the Constitution and the people.

Jeff Bassett, Charlotte

Swamp jail

It will cost U.S. taxpayers approximately $450 million per year to operate the newest detention center in the swamps of Florida. And many Americans will gladly tout this as the price of “security.” But where will Trump stop after cleansing us of these so-called criminals? Perhaps Americans who are so willing to pay so much toward this notion of security no longer deserve what this country has stood for since its inception.

David Calvin, Charlotte

Flooding

Regarding the tragic Fourth of July flooding in Texas, President Trump stated, “I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe.” Tragically, this type of disaster is happening with increasing regularity. There were only three climate disasters costing over a billion dollars in 1980. There have been 20 to 27 events each year with an average annual cost of $182 billion in the 2020s.

Climate denial is costly and deadly. Solar power and wind energy are now less expensive than fossil fuels as energy sources, and do not contribute to global warming. Investing in these and other technologies can result in a cooling planet by 2050, but only if aggressive changes are made now. In the meantime, weather disasters are going to continue to increase in our “new normal” climate, and we will all continue paying for them with dollars and lives.

William Bock, Charlotte

This story was originally published July 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.