Advertisement House passes bill allowing guns on school property Measure backed by Rep. Sally Kern Share Shares Copy Link Copy

For decades, it’s been law. Visitors to the capitol, schools, or other government properties must keep their guns at home.VIDEO: Bill allowing guns on school property heads to State SenateRep. Sally Kern wants to change that with House Bill 2329."You can go to the county jail, you can go to the courthouse," Kern said. "And you can leave your gun in the car parked in the parking lot."The bill would also apply to schools, allowing handguns, but only stored in locked vehicles in parking lots. Rifles and shotguns are still banned on school, state, and federal property.HB 2329 also reduces punishment for those who would break the new law, reducing offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.As for safety concerns regarding the proximity of guns to schools, Kern said, "You find me an instance when anybody went to do any harm at a school and decided they would go through all the cars to try and find a weapon to do it with -- never happened."Former principal and current State Rep. Ann Coody doesn’t want to leave it to chance."That gun could be on the dashboard or it could be on the seat or the back seat," Coody said.Nowhere does the bill state the handgun has to be hidden, or locked within the vehicle itself. Coody said that's leaving an exposed weapon at risk for theft, or even worse, for violence."My greatest concern as a school principal was to keep the students safe," said Coody. "It was not for the convenience of people who visited our campus."The House voted 76-17 Tuesday for the bill. It now heads to the Oklahoma State Senate.