If a campus concealed carry law is enacted, police fear that the change will significantly alter their duties, as well as university culture.
A bill that would allow people to carry concealed weapons on Florida’s college campuses has passed initial committee hurdles in both houses of the state Legislature.
A similar proposal died last year, and this year’s bill (House Bill 4001 and Senate Bill 68) would have to clear more committees and both houses before becoming law. The 2016 session begins in January.
David Hendry, the chief of USFSP’s police department, warned that the proposal would significantly change the campus culture and his staff’s duties.
“What I really worry about is the change in culture,” Hendry said. “Right now, everyone knows that an exposed weapon on campus is prohibited, and that makes ‘See something, Say something’ work.’”
Concealed weapons in campus buildings would also require stepped-up security at “events that we didn’t have to cover in the past,” Hendry said.
The gun debate in Tallahassee pits pro-gun forces led by the National Rifle Association and an organization called Florida Carry LLC against state university presidents and police chiefs, the state board that oversees high education, and gun-control advocates.
The pro-gun forces say the proposal would help keep campuses safe. They note that people must undergo background checks before they can get a concealed weapons permit.
But opponents contend it would compromise schools’ ability to provide a safe learning environment. Permitting guns on campus would make violence more likely, they say.
The hotly debated issue of on-campus firearms follows a court case that pitted Florida Carry against the University of North Florida. An appellate court ultimately ruled that UNF could not ban firearms if they are stowed in vehicles on campus. That forced the university system to change its policy and allow people to keep weapons in their vehicles.
The bill under consideration in the Legislature would expand the UNF case in a significant way. If enacted, it would allow people with concealed gun permits to take firearms into classrooms, dormitories, the Student Life Center and other campus buildings.
That would mean “we are no longer sacred ground,” said chief Hendry.
The legal issue turns on the question of whether state universities, which are governed by the Florida Board of Governors, can trump a law enacted by the Legislature.
The UNF decision, which was originally about guns in vehicles, also weighed in on the authority of the state board to regulate weapons in the first place. Florida Carry, the nonprofit that brought the lawsuit, contends that universities do not have the power to limit weapons.
Around the country, most states either ban firearms outright on campus or let their university systems make the call on how guns are treated on campus. Eight states – Colorado, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas, Mississippi, Utah, Idaho, and Texas – allow firearms on campus to varying degrees.
At USFSP, reaction to the proposal to permit concealed weapons on campus seems mixed.
An informal survey on the “USFSP The Know It All’s Guide To Knowing It All!” showed a 50-50 split, with strong reaction on both sides of the issue.
The Crow’s Nest attempted to get comments from Florida Carry LLC, but it had offered no response at press time.
Information from the Tampa Bay Times and the News Service of Florida was used in this report.
