Lawmakers ponder bill to allow concealed weapons at colleges
Thursday, February 7, 2008 10:45 AM PST
BOISE (AP) — Idaho lawmakers are considering a bill that would strip the authority that administrators at public universities and community colleges have in keeping their campuses free of concealed weapons.
A bill introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday would require the State Board of Education to set rules allowing concealed weapons on campuses, as long as permit holders first notify school administrators.
Debate on the bill comes at a time when lawmakers in at least six other states have introduced legislation to loosen firearms restrictions by allowing students, staff or faculty to carry concealed weapons on campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Supporters say the measures are inspired, at least in part, by a student movement that’s emerged in the wake of the shooting spree at Virginia Tech last April, in which a student killed 32 people before committing suicide.
Since then, the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which now counts more than 10,000 members, has been pushing states to open up concealed weapons laws at colleges and universities as a way of allowing people to react to violence.
Many states forbid holders of concealed weapons permits from carrying weapons on school campuses. In states where the decision is left to the universities, most schools prohibit the weapons. So far, Utah is the only state with a law that allows concealed weapons on public university campuses.
Kentucky, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington are all considering similar laws.
