Churches are sacred places where one should be able to get away from the innate suckiness that permeates much of the rest of the world. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. While going to church should make one safe, we’ve seen too many instances of horrible people trying to do horrible things in churches.

Which is why so many states have removed churches from the list of places people can’t carry. Armed citizens make a serious difference.

Unfortunately, while church carry is a thing, a speedbump developed in many states. The way the laws were written, you could carry a gun in church, but not if the church had a school adjacent.

Oops.

Many states immediately started addressing the issue. Now, North Carolina is one step closer to doing the same.

The North Carolina House has again approved legislation that would allow members or visitors at churches that meet on private school campuses to carry concealed handguns.

The bill is another attempt by gun-rights advocates to put these religious venues on par with standalone places of worship. Critics of the bill approved Thursday say that more gun access doesn’t help prevent violence.

Except, it does.

Let’s remember White Settlement, Texas. A man pulled out a shotgun and began shooting members of the congregation until an armed citizen fired a single shot and ended the threat. That’s just one of a number of examples.

When a mass shooting occurs, the only thing that will stop it is a good guy with a gun. If there’s not one there when it happens, that means people have to hope the police show up before they get killed because the police do, indeed, count as good guys with guns. Yet they’re generally miles away. It can take far too long for them to get there.

But a good guy with a gun can end the threat right then and there. Two or more good guys with guns are even better.

The truth is that guns are in all kinds of North Carolina churches and there hasn’t been any problem with that. Expanding it to churches that have attached schools won’t suddenly lead to more of these non-existent issues. Besides, if you’re worried about guns at a school, the school isn’t even in session during worship services, for crying out loud. There won’t be students and guns at the same place at the same time; if that’s what’s freaking some people out.

Then again, for some people, they want to be freaked out.

North Carolina needs to pass this bill. They need to pass it and pray that nothing happens at one of these churches before something does.

Unfortunately, while this bill will now head back to the Senate and may well pass, the governor vetoed a similar bill in 2020. They couldn’t override it and I doubt they’ll have the votes to override it this year. Maybe this is just different enough that Governor Roy Cooper will sign it this time, but since he’s a Democrat, I’m inclined to suspect he won’t.

It’s a shame, too, because good guys with guns stop mass shootings, even in churches.