No matter what state regulations dictate, college and university officials, faculty, staff, students, parents, and everyday taxpayers all have something to say about whether or not concealed handguns and other weaponry should be allowed on campus. Compelling arguments exist along the spectrum, but specific schools in particular seem to pop out whenever the subject materializes — sometimes, of course, for matters outside their control.
- University of Colorado at Boulder: Even before the July 2012 act of domestic terrorism at an Aurora movie theater not one hour away, University of Colorado Boulder was forced to overturn its campus restrictions on concealed handguns. The Colorado Supreme Court considered their ban too invasive of student privacy and safety, though the weapons remain contraband at dorms and sporting events. Some professors, however, go so far as to not hold class if they know a student carried a gun into the room. Because of the school’s proximity to the tragic shooting during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, its policies eventually chugged to the forefront of national debate.
- University of Colorado at Denver: University of Colorado’s Denver campus gained news notoriety as the stomping grounds of Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes, who attended as a Ph.D. student in neuroscience and received mental healthcare from the school’s cadre of psychologists and counselors. Its hospital also treated many of the victims who survived the massacre, even hosting President Barack Obama, who came to offer comfort and support in their time of suffering. By August 2012, possibly as a reaction to the tragedy, the school no longer allowed students to keep concealed handguns in their dorms. Those holding a permit were either relocated to on-campus apartments or terminated their housing contracts, though the school’s requirements also control how they store their gun while living elsewhere. When not being carried, students (and anyone employed by UC) must store their guns properly in a safe. University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are also subject to the new rules.
- Virginia Tech: In March of 2012, a Virginia court ruling awarded two families $8 million apiece after losing members to a 2007 campus shooting claiming 33 victims. The jury believed Virginia Tech lagged in its emergency response system warning students of a lone, active gunman opening fire on school grounds; at the massacre’s conclusion, it ended up the worst in American history in terms of body count. Advocates for and against gun control at colleges and universities across the nation still hold up the incident as an example proving their points, but the decision itself holds some broader implications beyond politics. It explores the responsibilities the schools themselves possess to keep their students as safe as possible, holds them accountable for lapses, and challenges them to forge better strategies for addressing violence as quickly and efficiently as possible.
- Old Dominion University: As many college and university campuses continue weighing the positives and negatives of allowing faculty, staff, students, and visitors to pack concealed handguns, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia decided on an outright ban. Effective as of January 2012, the regulation passed in January 2012 after the school contended with virulent (but not violent) rallies, protests, and individual advocates from all sides of the gun control debate divide. Their policy, as it stood before the reworking, could not be properly enforced. Now, only law enforcement officials may pack heat on university grounds, and ODU’s restrictions cover more than just guns. With the exception of mace, pepper spray, and knives with blades under three inches, all weaponry is banned from campus.
- Georgia State University: Even before the tragic shooting death of former Panther soccer star Ayokunla Lumpkin when tracking down the perpetrator of a hit-and-run in southeast Atlanta, Georgia State University students wrung their hands over whether or not to lobby the school in support of or against gun control. As one can expect, some would consider campus a safer place if concealed handguns were permitted, while others decidedly do not. Protests supporting allowing such weapons on campus permeate Georgia Institute of Technology, also located in Atlanta, but only a sliver of the fervor has slipped over to GSU. The issue weighs on their minds these days, enough to warrant a discussion, though it has yet to grow as inflamed as elsewhere.
- Georgia Institute of Technology: 2012 saw a crescendo in crime both on- and off-campus near Atlanta-based Georgia Tech, with robberies and one student even waking up with a gun to his head. Unsurprisingly, this sparked a school-wide series of talks and a social media-based campaign (including a petition) to break the ban on concealed handguns. Supporters of overturning statewide mandates disallowing weapons on college and university grounds believe allowing students, faculty, staff, and visitors to carry will deter further criminal activity. The state of Georgia itself is listening to the mounting pressure, and currently considering altering its gun control laws to permit on-campus weapons with proper licensing. Which, obviously, also impacts the aforementioned Georgia State University.
- University of Texas at Austin: University of Texas at Austin has suffered beneath two notorious campus shooting sprees, one in 1966 and another in 2010, so gun control remains very much a concern for the administration. Not to mention the student body and their professors, of course. Texas legislatures considered allowing concealed handguns on college campuses in 2011, making the Lone Star State one of many debating such an allowance. Such a consideration stemmed largely from UT’s recent traumas regarding an AK-47, possessed legally but fired illegally, but students remain divided over whether or not they believe the right to carry will ultimately prove harmful or helpful.
- Texas A&M University: University of Texas’ main rival is just as privy to the same scrutiny by gun control supporters and detractors. Governor Rick Perry, himself an Aggie, parlayed the August 2012 shooting near campus – which claimed three lives (including Brazos County Constable Brian Bachmann) and injured three more – into an opportunity to share his positions on the controversial political subject. The shootout saw the gunman and one civilian killed in addition to Bachmann, and two College Station police officers and one civilian hurt. Over an eviction notice. Perry, for his part, would like you to know that he totally thinks individual states should decide what to do with guns. Oh, and he’s really sorry that bad things happened.
- University of Arizona at Tucson: Arizona is one of many states contemplating its stance on concealed handguns and other weapons, especially after the attempted assassination of Representative Gabriella Giffords near the University of Arizona’s Tucson campus in 2011. President Robert Shelton, however, disputes any proposed legislation on the subject and wishes they remain entirely out of the hands of his Wildcats. Law enforcement agents assigned to the campus as well as the surrounding city agree with him, as does President John Haeger of Northern Arizona University. Interestingly enough, Arizona already stands as one of the most permissive states in America when it comes to gun laws, though it currently will not allow concealed weaponry to be carried on campus. As of 2012, however, Governor Jan Brewer continues vetoing bills permitting concealed handguns because of poor support.
- Auburn University: Currently, Auburn University restricts the possession and use of firearms – as well as other weapons (and even firecrackers) – across all its campuses, and it doesn’t seem to want to change the policy anytime in the near future. However, the June 2012 shooting of six men, three of whom died, at an off-campus party nearby rocketed the school to the center of the gun control debate. Three of the victims were either former or current players for the football team, and the entire town mourned the loss. The alleged perpetrator has since been indicted. Earlier in the year, back in April, four members were put up on armed robbery charges, with one already receiving a conviction. Suffice to say, the most negative applications of gun ownership have ricocheted to the forefront of consciousness at Auburn and provided further fodder for pundits on both sides of the debate.
- University of Alabama at Huntsville: Amy Bishop stands accused of opening fire during a University of Alabama at Huntsville faculty meeting allegedly after discovering she would not receive tenure, killing three other professors in 2010. Lack of funding prevents her from receiving a full trial as of 2012, however, so she has yet to receive charges or, if necessary, a sentencing. The Chronicle of Higher Education, in a twofer move, used the situation to not only (admittedly lightly) touch upon gun control, but whether or not tenure should be held to such high acclaim as well. Her past history of erratic behavior and reactive violence, not to mention frequent complaints by students and her fellow professors, also provides talking points about spotting and intervening with potentially deadly problems before they finally erupt.
- Columbia University: Unlike most of the other schools listed here, Columbia University doesn’t serve as a hub (or an excuse) for a debate on the thorny situation of gun control because of an on-campus or nearby tragedy. Rather, it’s the contributions of HuffPost Live producer and host and professor at the school Marc Lamont Hill creating the association. One episode from July 2012 peers into the racial (and, to a lesser extent, class) implications behind regulating and restricting gun ownership and access. It asks some provocative and wholly necessary sociological questions about how legislation does and might impact the African-American community as a whole. Reporters, activists, and a radio host chime in with their perspectives.
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