North Dakota workers should be able to keep guns locked in their cars and trucks while at work, even if the employer doesn’t allow firearms on company property, advocates tell The Associated Press.
The North Dakota Senate’s Industry, Business and Labor Committee reviewed a bill that says employers may not discipline a worker for having a legally owned gun in his or her vehicle.
Employees who own guns have a constitutional right to safely store it while they work, supporters of the measure said.
“This bill respects the ability for the right of property owners to say, ‘No guns on premises,’ and not allow them into their physical building. But the parking lot is a different deal,” said Darin Goens, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. “What private property interests do they have in micromanaging the contents of my trunk?”
The House approved the bill 82-12 last month. The Senate committee took no action on it Tuesday.
Business representatives said they should have the right to control what people bring on their private property and that allowing guns in their parking lots may be dangerous for employees and customers.
