The “gun bill,” as many are calling it, is a four-part package of bills that has just passed the house and will be debated in the Senate this upcoming week. In short, the debate will revolve around limiting magazines to 15 rounds, increasing sanctions on background checks, requiring those consumers to pay for their own background checks instead of taxpayers and, perhaps most relevant to us, banning concealed weapons on college campuses around the state of Colorado.

Currently, Colorado law, along with CMU’s Student and Academic Policies Guide, allows concealed carry weapon holders to carry handguns on campus. The passage of this bill would ban that provision and add universities and colleges across the state to the list of unlawful places, which may also include stadiums and school-sponsored events.

In turn, this brings us to ask if the bill will be effective in making students safer on campus. When asked if he though it would make more secure changes, Vice President of Student Services John Marshall replied, “We have not had any issues, nor has CSU. To suggest that Representative Levy’s bill would make us safer is to imply that we are currently unsafe. I’m unaware of any evidence that supports this notion.”

On the other end, many remember instances like Virginia Tech and UT-Austin. Students for Concealed Carry argue that “disarming good guys won’t stop bad guys.”

Yet many assert that guns and college students shouldn’t mix. “I’m concerned about trusting those with guns,” Larissa Wiger, a student at CMU, said. “It only takes one kid with a bad day or instability, but at least we’re not Arizona.”

The bills will go through the Senate committees on Monday and likely continue to the floor where the Democrats are up 5 on the Republicans. The next few days look like they will be packed with heated arguments from both sides in an effort to deliver what’s best for higher education on campuses.

“The conversation about campus safety is a critically important one,” Marshall said. “But, like academic, student and financial considerations vary greatly across the different campuses in this state, so too do the safety concerns. That’s why the individual governing boards are best equipped to address this issue, campus by campus.” 

krwebb@mavs.coloradomesa.edu