Bill would change concealed weapon rules

BOISE – Idaho lawmakers are considering a bill that would strip the authority that administrators at public universities and community colleges have in keeping their campuses free of concealed weapons.

A bill introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday would require the State Board of Education to set rules allowing concealed weapons on campuses, as long as permit holders first notify school administrators.

Debate on the bill comes at a time when lawmakers in at least six other states have introduced legislation to loosen firearms restrictions by allowing students, staff or faculty to carry concealed weapons on campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Supporters say the measures are inspired, at least in part, by a student movement that’s emerged in the wake of the shooting spree at Virginia Tech last April, in which a student killed 32 people before committing suicide.

Since then, the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which now counts more than 10,000 members, has been pushing states to open up concealed weapons laws at colleges and universities as a way of allowing people to react to violence.

Many states forbid holders of concealed weapons permits from carrying weapons on school campuses. In states where the decision is left to the universities, most schools prohibit the weapons. So far, Utah is the only state with a law that allows concealed weapons on public university campuses. Kentucky, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington are all considering similar laws.

Within days of the Virginia Tech shootings, University of Idaho engineering student Aled Baker started a Students for Concealed Carry on Campus chapter. Now with more than 130 members, the group played an active role in persuading GOP lawmakers to introduce a bill to prevent school administrators from restricting concealed weapons on campus.

“Virginia Tech was a primary example of why we need to allow people the right to defend themselves,” Baker, a junior who helped write the bill, said Wednesday.

“The discussion started among myself and my peers,” he said. “We were saying, ‘That’s ridiculous what happened.’ And we could have mitigated the situation, reduced the number of deaths. You can’t always prevent these things. You could maybe cut down on them.”

Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, agreed to sponsor the bill, which was introduced in the Senate State Affairs Committee. The bill also has the blessing of the National Rifle Association.

“The creation of a gun-free zone is not going to stop terrible things from happening within those zones any more than laws against murder are going to stop murder,” Brian Judy, the NRA’s Idaho liaison, told lawmakers.

During debate Wednesday, some Republicans questioned whether the bill goes too far.

Sen. Brad Little, R-Emmett and the party’s caucus chairman, criticized a provision that would strip cities and counties of authority to regulate shooting galleries and ranges.

“I’m afraid this would have a chilling effect on the establishment of good, safe areas for people to shoot,” Little said. “I think it’s going backward from the way you want to go.”