Concord — New Hampshire lawmakers effectively killed legislation on Wednesday that would have given school boards the authority to ban guns from schools.

The Senate Education Committee voted, 3-2, along party lines to reject a measure sponsored by Sen. Martha Hennessey, D-Hanover, by ruling it inexpedient to legislate.

Although it’s possible that the proposal, which would have allowed school districts to prohibit firearms on school grounds, might resurface on the Senate floor, Hennessey said it’s unlikely to pass the Republican-led body.

“I don’t have any delusions that we can really make any kind of difference,” Hennessey said after the vote in Concord. “Everybody’s conspiring against common sense, and so what can you do with that? Not much.”

Hennessey blamed the amendment’s failure on her Republican colleagues’ fear of bucking the National Rifle Association or their legislative leaders.

“Really what they just don’t want is anything that limits in any way firearms,” she said. “In fact, many of them would prefer just not to have any government.”

The amendment, which would have been attached to a school safety bill, was an attempt to bring New Hampshire law into compliance with federal mandates, Hennessey said.

While the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act bans weapons within 1,000 feet of a school, municipal police cannot enforce the federal law, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

A state law gives the Legislature sole responsibility to regulate firearms, leaving school boards and municipal officials powerless on the issue, although New Hampshire schools can prohibit students and teachers from bringing firearms on school property.

Two Republican senators who represent parts of the Upper Valley, Ruth Ward, of Stoddard, and  Bob Giuda, of Warren, both opposed Hennessey’s proposal, which was offered as an amendment, in the committee vote on Wednesday.

Ward represents the Newport area, while Giuda’s district represents communities in the Haverhill area.

Giuda dismissed the proposal as feel-good legislation. “It’s an emotional response to a horrifically emotional event,” he said after the vote.

Establishing gun-free schools would only invite future shooters to attack the most vulnerable schools, he said. A better approach would be to make sure more people are armed within school buildings, he said.

“I’m sick and tired of seeing children cowering under desks, getting shot in cold blood and teachers hiding in closets or trying to cover their bodies defenseless,” he said. “Hope isn’t a defense against a bullet, and a sign or a policy isn’t a defense against a bullet.”

Ward also believes teachers should be armed.

“I don’t think we should have — (and) certainly not advertise — gun-free zones,” she said. “I think that’s an open invitation to come in and do damage for anybody who wants to do it.”

The committee vote came a day after a nearly two-hour hearing at the Statehouse, during which senators heard students and teachers express concerns about allowing guns in schools.

“My classmates and I have grown up in a world where the fear of getting shot and killed at school is a legitimate one that becomes stronger each time we learn of a new school shooting,” Jennifer White, a junior at Hopkinton High School, told senators. “We go to school to learn, not to fear for our lives.”

White said that fear grows even stronger with the knowledge that any person in New Hampshire could legally walk into a school armed, “and nobody could do anything about it until they started shooting people.”

“School used to be a place where I felt safe,” White said. “Now, it’s becoming a place of uneasiness.”

Susan Ford, a retired school administrator and former state representative from Easton, also advocated for the amendment, saying it would provide districts with the flexibility to make their own policies.

“I would want it on a local basis. I would want an opportunity to talk to the parents, I would want an opportunity to talk to the students,” she told the committee. “I would want to be able to talk to other administrators and I would want to talk to teachers.”

Ford, a Democrat, represented Orford for more than a decade before losing the seat to Republican Vicki Schwaegler in 2016.

The town is in Giuda’s district and is home to Rivendell Academy, where school officials opposed state law by adopting a policy last week that bans firearms on school property.

The School Board there voted unanimously to prohibit guns, and reserved the right of administrators to issue “no-trespass letters” to those found in violation, according to Superintendent Elaine Arbour.

The move makes Rivendell one of several districts in the Upper Valley that prohibits guns on school property. The other school districts include Lebanon, Dresden, Mascoma and Claremont.

Yet Hennessey’s proposal also drew strong opposition at Tuesday’s hearing.

“Nothing in this amendment will make our school safer,” said Mitch Kopacz, president of Gun Owners of New Hampshire. “Nothing will stop crazy people, bad people, from doing bad things.”

State Rep. J.R. Hoell, R-Dunbarton, said that by barring firearms, the legislation would prevent parents from protecting children within schools.

“I can’t see a more intrusive form of government than a government that bans parents from protecting their own natural children,” said Hoell, who sponsored legislation earlier this year that would have punished school boards for adopting gun policies. His bill effectively was killed in February.

Wednesday’s committee vote also came at the same time that Gov. Chris Sununu’s School Safety Preparedness Taskforce held its first meeting to discuss efforts to stem violence.

The meeting was closed to the public, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.