Huckleberries Online

Senate shoots down guns-on-campus bill

Posted by Cindy

March 25, 2011 11:41 a.m. • 9 comments

Members of the Senate State Affairs Committee listen to testimony on HB 222 on Friday morning, the bill to permit guns on campus at Idaho colleges and universities. The bill earlier passed the House.

BOISE - Idaho senators killed the guns-on-campus bill Friday, after a two-hour hearing in which proponents of the measure said students who have concealed weapons permits aren’t “drunken frat boys who would stumble about campus firing indiscriminately.”

On the Senate State Affairs Committee, hearing the testimony, was Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, whose 23-year-old son was shot to death at a college keg party after a beer-splashing clash with fellow student who had a concealed weapons permit.

Davis told University of Idaho law student Jonathan Sawmiller, who was speaking in favor of HB 222, “My 23-year-old son was shot eight years ago last week by a concealed weapon permit holder. Both BSU students. Off campus, at a college environment. I know for you, that you served our country nobly, I thank you for it. I trust you. But there are others that I have concerns about. This is not an intellectual exercise for me and my family. To you and your successors who speak here today, please be sensitive in couching your remarks.” Betsy Russell, SR

Reaction?

Nine comments on this post so far. Add yours!

JamesBond on March 25 at 11:54 a.m.
Not surprised at all. I knew this would happen. Anyone who knows politics well in Idaho knew it would happen.
cda_al on March 25 at 12:38 p.m.
Thank the flying spaghetti monster
idviking on March 25 at 1:55 p.m.
state affairs has always been where you can search for reasoanble legislators. Maybe it should be called the Committee to Resolve Idiotic Proposals.
Wally on March 25 at 2:03 p.m.
At last, a pinhole of sanity in an otherwise completely wacked-out session.

Idaho voters: Send the cavemen packing next election season. Only you can prevent crazy, right-wing politicians.
Stickman on March 25 at 8:03 p.m.
Wally, I liked that. Once in awhile there is a pinhole of sanity.
Fishwife on March 25 at 8:10 p.m.
How many legislative pinheads can fit though a pinhole?
danofthecommunity on March 25 at 9:13 p.m.
“At last, a pinhole of sanity in an otherwise completely wacked-out session.”

On top of the bill to quit shackling women prisoners during the act of child birth…watch out over there…them dern libralls are taking over!
Arch_Druid on March 26 at 9:37 a.m.
All I can say is “good.” So now old Curtis Stone can throw stones and pitch a temper tantrum that pro-gun GOP disagreed with the “guns on campus” proposal.
Fishwife on March 26 at 7:05 p.m.
Could you have imagined guns on campus on a BSU v. Idaho weekend?

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.