Senate votes to let teachers keep guns in their cars Bill now heads to the House

Cars drive along Interstate 45 at rush hour between 610 and Beltway 8 Friday, April 21, 2017 in Houston. Lawmakers are looking at plans to allow teachers and school personnel to store firearms in their vehicle parked on school property. less Cars drive along Interstate 45 at rush hour between 610 and Beltway 8 Friday, April 21, 2017 in Houston. Lawmakers are looking at plans to allow teachers and school personnel to store firearms in their vehicle ... more Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Senate votes to let teachers keep guns in their cars 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate approved a bill would allow teachers and school employees keep firearms in their vehicles parked on campus Monday, however critics said they worry about the dangers of keeping guns near children.

Parents are allowed to have firearms in their vehicles when they drop their kids off at school, as are private sector employees who park their vehicles at work, said Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Mineola Republican sponsoring the bill.

"You might say that we are now discriminating against our school employees because everybody else can have a gun in their car on campus, but not school employees. We ought to remove that limitation on them," said Hughes.

The Republican-controlled Senate approved Senate Bill 1942 on a 25-6 vote Monday after defeating an amendment that would have required the firearms be securely stored in the vehicle. The measure, which requires the firearm be in a locked vehicle and out of view, now heads to the Texas House.

Earlier this year, two three-year-old boys were injured in an accidental shooting at Chuck E. Cheese in Fort Worth after discovering an unsecured .380 caliber pistol in the passenger side of a vehicle.