The evening before a mass shooting at an Oregon college left ten dead, Florida State’s Student Senate voted 26-7 in favor of a resolution against legislation that would allow concealed carry licensees to carry firearms on college campuses.
Oregon is one of the nine states that allow licensed concealed firearms to be carried on campus. Many campus-carry laws were initially composed in the wake of the Columbine massacre in an effort to make campuses safer. The laws have little effect in three of those states, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Kansas, as most universities still prohibit weapons from being carried on campus. Only Idaho, Utah, and Colorado have laws that do not impose limitations on where guns are allowed and who may carry them. Courtesy: Armed Campuses
The Florida law SB61 would delete the legal provision that prevents concealed firearms on campus and allows students, employees, and faculty to carry “stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes.”
Florida State’s president John Thrasher opposed an earlier version of the bill in 2011 while he was Rules Committee Chairman in Florida’s House of Representatives. President Thrasher voted against the bill after the death of a close friend’s daughter in an accidental shooting at a Florida State fraternity house in January 2011.
Courtesy: Associated Press
Proponents of the SB61 claimed the bill would increase the personal safety of students and help prevent violence.
“The police are fast, but simply not fast enough to respond in time,” said graduate student Rebekah Hargrove, State Director of Florida Students for Concealed Carry. “We see that the majority of crimes on campus are not known about by the police until after the crime has happened.”
“Criminals would be risking much more knowing their victims might be armed,” said Austin Gasiorek, sophomore Environmental Science major.
Florida has the largest number of concealed carry permits in the US, with 1.45 million, or about 7 percent of the population, as of March 2015. 77 percent of those licensed are male. Only those 21 and older may apply for a permit.
Students who oppose the bill are concerned particularly with the lack of limitations on where concealed weapons would be allowed, such as “dorms, sports stadiums, and mental health facilities.” They express particular concern for student housing, citing the high rates of robbery and the high stress level of students as risk factors.
“Schools have higher rates of depression and suicide,” said Daniella Fernandez, senior History and International Affairs major.
“Having the means to commit suicide is a huge factor in whether someone actually commits suicide,” said Jade Reindl, senior Political Science major.
Fernandez also highlighted the lack of responsibility to register weapons in on-campus housing. She worried that students could end up with roommates who carry concealed weapons without their knowledge.
Courtesy: GRC Architects
The two sides remain divided on whether campus carry would make students safer. While supporters hope to be able to defend themselves, opponents worry that concealed weapons would negatively affect their ability to express themselves openly. Junion Political Science major Kaylynn Toomey worried about the law’s relationship with Florida’s stand-your-ground law, which authorizes citizens to protect themselves against a real or perceived threat using any level of force.
“Just the thought of it being brought to campus, somewhere I call home, somewhere I spend all my time, is terrifying,” said Toomey.
Violence against women is a major concern for both sides. In her article in the Pensacola News Journal, Director Hargrove said, “the issue comes down to whether you support the right to carry on campus or whether you support rapists having free access to unarmed victims.”
However, the bill’s opponent Jade Reindl emphasized, “not every woman has the same experience.”
“You’re telling the victim to defend herself rather than telling the attacker not to attack,” said Fernandez. “The majority of attacks happen by someone you know or have met prior. The majority of these attacks don’t happen out in the open by strangers that you don’t know.”
Campus-carry does not come down to one concern for either side. Mass shootings, sexual assault, violence against women, mental health, personal safety, and access to emergency aid are some of the multi-faceted issues the bill effects. Many of the issues are highly emotional.
It is difficult for even statistics to reveal whether campus carry would make students more or less safe. With similar bills proposed in fourteen states, Florida could be a deciding factor in whether concealed carry on campus becomes a part of college life.