Colleges, public don’t want guns on campus

Guns are coming to Kansas’ six state university campuses as of July 2017. The Legislature and governor made sure of that, with no regard for strong stakeholder opposition to such an expansion of concealed-carry.

But how and exactly where will guns be allowed?

The Kansas Board of Regents is trying to figure that out, in a process illustrating again the vast gap these days in the state between the governing and the governed.

Passed over the objections of the regents, university presidents, university chiefs of police and student government associations, the 2012 law was designed to have a long windup – supposedly to allow institutions time to soften the gun mandate by selectively implementing “adequate security measures” at some of the state’s 864 campus buildings.

But because there isn’t much spare money in university budgets to hire security guards and buy metal detectors, most of the no-gun signs will be coming down from building entrances.

A regents committee has proposed policy changes and is gathering responses from universities, with the full Board of Regents likely to vote next month. Among the recommendations (some of which seem at odds with the unfettered gun rights preferred at the Capitol):

▪  That open carry of any weapon still be prohibited and no weapons be displayed except as “necessary for self-defense or transferring to safe storage.”

▪  That each university develop and follow policies for the safe possession, use and storage of weapons.

▪  That there be secure storage locations for handguns, such as university public safety offices. In some cases, campus housing residents would have to provide their own university-approved secure storage devices.

Though the policy mentions barring concealed-carry at stadiums, arenas and other large venues with “adequate security measures,” it doesn’t settle which events would fall under that category.

Meanwhile, campus constituencies are just waking up to the law’s potential impact.

Students, faculty and staff who spoke at a recent University of Kansas Senate meeting advocated fighting the law, or trying to exclude classrooms entirely or buildings in which chemicals or pressurized gas would make firearm discharge a “disproportionate threat.”

As they passed the law, though, legislators largely seemed unconcerned about any discomfort or danger that could result. On the contrary, they argued, concealed-carry would make campuses and students safer, by enabling law-abiding gun owners to defend themselves and others if a campus shooting occurred. Of course, the Legislature subsequently scrapped the requirement that Kansans have training and secure a permit to conceal and carry – not just lowering the bar but eliminating it.

Similarly, lawmakers and Gov. Sam Brownback are unlikely to be moved to repeal or weaken the law now. But they cannot discount the criticism as isolated to academics and students, as the recent scientific survey from the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University also found that just 16 percent of those polled supported opening college campuses to concealed or open carry of guns.

Those who think guns will make campuses less safe at least should make themselves heard.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Colleges, public don’t want guns on campus."