2008 Woodie Awards
Campuses react to recent string of college violence
Erin Kelly
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: News
Recent shootings on and around campuses nationwide have caused many states to reconsider their weapon laws and college security.
Arizona's senate is considering a bill allowing concealed weapons to be legal on public school campuses, from elementary schools to universities.
The bill was designed to prevent massacres like the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, where one armed student killed 32 people. Having trained and armed gun owners on campuses could combat a gunman faster than law officials could arrive, proponants of the bill have argued.
Currently only Utah has passed a law allowing concealed weapons on campuses.
Jim Ferrier, associate director of public safety, said that in states like Arizona, Colorado and Utah, colleges cannot prohibit guns on campus because there are already state laws allowing citizens to carry guns. The "concealment" bill allows a person to put a jacket on over the weapon, therefore hiding their weapon from others' views, Ferrier said.
In states like Arizona, "gun ownership is like owning an Ipod here [in Boston]," Ferrier said. People use guns for social activities, like hunting on weekends. Yet in urban settings, like the Boston area, the situation is different, and weapons are not seen in the same light, Ferrier said.
"In Massachusetts the law is very strict, and states even if you have a permit for a gun, the permit is absolutely invalid on college campuses," Ferrier said. "It is against the law and campus policy. I see no likelihood of a movement to modify the law of allowing possession of a gun on campus other than [for] law enforcement people."
Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat, said allowing concealed, or any, weapons on campuses is not an effective way to end violence.
"We must bring greater safety to the nation's communities and more sanity to the nation's gun laws. Allowing concealed weapons on campus is not an answer," Kennedy said in a statement to The News.
Arizona's senate is considering a bill allowing concealed weapons to be legal on public school campuses, from elementary schools to universities.
The bill was designed to prevent massacres like the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, where one armed student killed 32 people. Having trained and armed gun owners on campuses could combat a gunman faster than law officials could arrive, proponants of the bill have argued.
Currently only Utah has passed a law allowing concealed weapons on campuses.
Jim Ferrier, associate director of public safety, said that in states like Arizona, Colorado and Utah, colleges cannot prohibit guns on campus because there are already state laws allowing citizens to carry guns. The "concealment" bill allows a person to put a jacket on over the weapon, therefore hiding their weapon from others' views, Ferrier said.
In states like Arizona, "gun ownership is like owning an Ipod here [in Boston]," Ferrier said. People use guns for social activities, like hunting on weekends. Yet in urban settings, like the Boston area, the situation is different, and weapons are not seen in the same light, Ferrier said.
"In Massachusetts the law is very strict, and states even if you have a permit for a gun, the permit is absolutely invalid on college campuses," Ferrier said. "It is against the law and campus policy. I see no likelihood of a movement to modify the law of allowing possession of a gun on campus other than [for] law enforcement people."
Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat, said allowing concealed, or any, weapons on campuses is not an effective way to end violence.
"We must bring greater safety to the nation's communities and more sanity to the nation's gun laws. Allowing concealed weapons on campus is not an answer," Kennedy said in a statement to The News.
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