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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A plan outlining how concealed weapons will be allowed on Kansas college campuses appears poised to advance toward adoption despite mounting opposition from some campus groups across the state.
The Kansas Board of Regents' four-member governance committee on Wednesday is expected to approve in Topeka the newest draft governing concealed guns that by state law will be permitted at Kansas' colleges and universities by mid-2017, said Breeze Richardson, a spokeswoman for the regents.
The draft's latest revisions will be made public during Wednesday's meeting, though the full board likely will sign off on the policy during its next scheduled meeting in January, Richardson said.
Kansas law enables gun owners to carry concealed weapons without a license, including in many public buildings. Public universities in the state also by law must allow such weapons on their campuses beginning in July 2017 in buildings that don't have security measures including metal detectors — an option broadly considered cost-prohibitive.
Opponents have argued that such easing of firearm regulations could hinder classroom discussions because students may worry an armed student or educator who disagrees could react violently, or that a firearm could accidentally discharge or make it easier for the suicidal to harm themselves. Supporters of concealed carry on campus counter that gun-free zones attract mass shootings.
Kansas is among eight states that allow carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures database. Missouri and 18 other states ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus, although two Republican lawmakers in Missouri recently proposed legislation to lift that state's ban. Twenty-three other states leave the decision up to the individual college or university.
The University of Kansas chancellor and 70 of the school's distinguished professors this month spoke out against concealed carry of guns on campus, generally insisting universities should have authority to restrict firearms considered incompatible with the campus' function. About the same time, Kansas State University professors recently signed a letter to the state Legislature opposing weapons on campus.
At Kansas, Mike Williams — an associate journalism professor and president of the University Senate — said allowing students and educators to carry guns on campus is bad policy. But as moderator of discussions about the topic on campus, "it's important to know that I'm not going to go down the path of no guns to the exclusion of people who think it's a good idea" to be armed on campus.
His bottom line: Even though there are two legislative sessions between now and mid-2017, it's unlikely the law will be scrapped, though modifications of it are possible.
"The basic premise is that in terms of a 180-degree shift in concealed weapons, that's not going to happen," he said. "Certainly universities are moving forward with the notion that change in the law isn't likely."
State Rep. Brett Hildabrand, a Shawnee Republican, believes the measure is a matter of fairness, noting that "these mass shootings always happen where law-abiding citizens (with concealed carry permits) are at a disadvantage" in gun-free zones.
"I think firearms, by and large, are very accepted (in Kansas), and I don't think the mood of the Legislature has changed," he said. "I think it's important for folks to feel secure and know that, God forbid something like (a campus mass shooting) happens, they have a right to defend themselves and others rather than being just helpless victims."
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