Exemption could keep concealed handguns off campus
A bill was introduced to the Kansas Legislature Tuesday seeking to block a law that would allow concealed handguns at Wichita State.
The law was passed in 2013 and is set to go into effect starting this year.
Behind the proposal to exempt universities are Overland Park Republican Representative Stephanie Clayton, Wichita Democrat Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau and Mission Hills Republican Senator Barbara Bollier.
Supporters of the exemption are hopeful because the Legislature is more moderate than it was in 2013.
Last November, Wichita State Student Government Association passed a resolution stating their opposition to the concealed carry of weapons on campus and calling for an extension to the exemption.
A 2015 survey conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University showed that 70 percent of faculty and staff respondants at Kansas Board of Regents universities favored amending current law so that guns would not be allowed on campuses.
The survey showed that 55.4 percent of WSU students are opposed to concealed carry on campus. In addition, 40 percent of students said they would be less likely to attend WSU should the law go into effect.
The Sunflower will have more information next week.
Jenna Farhat was the news editor of The Sunflower. Farhat majored in creative writing.
GolfDad007 • Jan 26, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Thought experiment… There is an active shooter on campus. The shooter is making their way through the building you are in. I am in your class and conceal carry everyday, you never knew it till that moment, are you afraid of me? Or are you thankful and get behind me? …just a thought. Also those 40% of students who would be less likely to attend due to guns on campus might want to look at the percentage of mass shooting that have occurred in “gun free” zones the last 10 years. Fear is powerful. It is not the responsible gun owner you need to worry about but the gun owner who has little care for laws and “gun free” zones.
Fran • Jan 20, 2017 at 8:19 am
That is an inaccurate statement that 55.4 percent of WSU students are opposed to concealed carry on campus. Not all of the WSU students participated in the survey, therefore this is not factual information.