Campus carry legislation hit a hiccup in the Senate on Tuesday, but Florida is moving ahead with its version of handguns on campus. The Miami Herald reports:
Despite vehement opposition from university presidents, campus police chiefs and student government associations, the Senate Higher Education Committee on Monday approved a proposal that would allow guns on college campuses.
The Texas legislation is facing opposition from University of Texas Chancellor William McRaven, but A&M Chancellor John Sharp supports it.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has been keeping up with the campus carry debate around the country. This is from the NCSL’s most recent report in February.
In the United States, all 50 states allow citizens to carry concealed weapons if they meet certain state requirements. Currently, there are 20 states that ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.
In 23 states the decision to ban or allow concealed carry weapons on campuses is made by each college or university individually: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Due to recent state legislation and court rulings, 7 states now have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on public postsecondary campuses. These states are Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin. In March 2014, Idaho’s legislature passed a bill permitting concealed weapons on campus and making it the 7th state to permit guns on campus.
