House leaders squelched debate Tuesday on a proposal that would allow emergency medical services personnel to carry concealed weapons on the job without a permit.
The First Responders Act of 2019 includes four provisions, two of which deal with tax breaks for first responders and a third seeking a study to improve interstate access for first responders.
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Democratic lawmakers questioned why a fourth section dealing with guns was in the bill, but House Transportation Committee members wouldn't allow debate on the provision, saying it was outside their purview. The committee also didn't debate the provisions dealing with the tax breaks.
Bill sponsor Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, explained the four provisions were left over from an omnibus bill last year. The other four proposals in that legislation passed.
The concealed weapon provision would apply only to paramedics embedded with a law enforcement special operations units and only for those missions, Warren said. The paramedics would first have to pass specialized training, he added.
But Rep. Yvonne Holley, D-Wake, said the language of the bill would allow paramedics to carry concealed weapons in any emergency situation involving law enforcement, not just special operations.
"It doesn't exclude this in other entities. Nowhere does it exclude it in other entities, and it's being explained that it is only for SWAT," Holley said, trying to amend the bill to make it less open-ended.
Committee leaders refused to allow it, and they also refused to allow the committee to forward the whole bill with a neutral recommendation since they acted on only one section.
So, the bill passed the committee, and heads next to the House Judiciary Committee, which will likely take a closer look at the concealed weapon provision. After that, it still faces two more committees before going to the House floor.