Last Wednesday, Idaho joined only a handful of states in passing a law that allows gun owners to carry concealed firearms while on college grounds.
Republican Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter signed SB 1254 into law after Idaho’s House of Representatives voted 50-19 in favor of the bill. Starting July 1 students and college faculty may walk on campus with their firearms as long as they avoid student dorms, residence halls and public entertainment facilities.
“As elected officials, we have a sworn responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States – not only when doing so is easy, convenient or without cost, but especially when it is not,” Gov. Otter wrote in an official statement. “This legislation challenges us to fulfill that charge and we will.”
“We will all be watching closely to ensure the interests of Idaho’s citizens are served while their constitutional freedoms are protected,” ends the statement.
The new law comes at a tense time when shootings and other gun-related incidents have rocked more than a few college campuses. The Huffington Post revealed that 27 reported shootings took place on college campuses last year, claiming a total of 18 victims.
Boise State University President Bob Kustra spoke out against the law, but on the grounds that having guns on campus was useless given that no Idaho college has faced a serious incident involving firearms.
Only Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Idaho currently allow guns on college grounds