Should students be allowed to carry concealed weapons?
The issue is expected to come up again for debate in Virginia.
from the April 18, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"You can never protect against this kind of incident," said Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, in a telephone interview. "I have my own concerns that, had there been a number of people who had been in that classroom with guns, [there could have been] additional persons killed just as a result of poor judgment calls."
But such arguments do not convince gun advocates. Mr. Gilbert, the General Assembly delegate, started fighting to allow guns on campus after an incident in 2005 involving another Virginia Tech student. The individual, who had a valid permit, was discovered carrying a concealed handgun on campus. He was told that, according to university policy, he could not carry it. If he did, he risked expulsion.
Gilbert then introduced a bill in the General Assembly in 2006. It would have allowed students or employees with concealed-handgun permits to carry those guns on state university campuses without risk of being expelled or fired. (A Virginia resident must be at least 21 years old to receive such a permit, and guns would still not have been allowed inside dorms or at sporting events.) Gilbert introduced the bill at the urging of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), a gun-rights organization with 6,000 members.
"I talk to students all the time who are angry that they can't protect themselves. But they don't want to take a chance on getting kicked out," says Philip Van Cleave, president of the VCDL.
But Gilbert's bill never made it past the subcommittee level, in part because it was opposed by the state's universities and by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.
In Utah, a similar proposal became law, and it was upheld by the Utah Supreme Court last year despite fierce opposition from officials at the University of Utah. As a result, students 21 or older who have permits can now carry guns on campus and into classrooms. But a new law passed this year allows students to request roommates who do not carry guns.
In other states that have enacted concealed carry laws, including Nebraska, lawmakers have continued to make exemptions that forbid concealed guns on school grounds, in school-owned vehicles, and at school-sponsored events and most athletic competitions.
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