Full-time university and college employees may soon be packing heat on campuses across the state. Â
The Tennessee legislature passed the “Guns on Campus†bill, which will allow full-time employees of public universities and colleges to carry a gun on campus, provided they have a state permit.
The Senate voted 28-5 in favor of the bill. The bill passed the House on a 69-24 vote.Â
The campus carry bill now goes to Gov. Bill Haslam, where it will move one step closer to naming Tennessee the 10th state to allow concealed carry on campuses.
So far, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Mississippi and, most recently, Texas allow concealed carry on campuses, according to the website armedcampuses.org.
The governor has expressed concerns over campus carry, preferring to allow each university the option to make the decision on their own. However, Haslam has not indicated whether or not he would veto the bill.
Several students, faculty and law enforcement agencies have taken a stance against the bill ever since it started making its rounds in legislation.
A survey released Tuesday of faculty members at several University of Tennessee campuses indicated faculty members would be concerned if the bill passed.
Speaking about the survey, Rep. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, said many professors said they would quit their jobs if the bill passed.
“Shouldn’t we be worried about passing a bill that would encourage our faculty members to leave the state?†Stewart said. “I think we should tread very lightly. We should be very hesitant to impose our beliefs on these institutions.â€
Rep. Rick Womick R-Murfreesboro, said this bill is about keeping the campuses safe.
“This is about self defense,†Womick said. “To the professors who say they will leave, I say good riddance.â€
At the U of M, Campus Police Chief Bruce Harber and President M. David Rudd both took a stance with a mass email sent out to students and employees. The pair stated the school would no longer be safe for anyone if concealed campus carry was allowed, and police would have a difficult time responding to a crisis.
“A major concern I share with my colleagues across the state is a tactical concern,†Harber said in an e-mail to the Daily Helmsman. “At a time when law enforcement is trying to do everything possible to speed up responses to such events, the presence of additional weapons will have the opposite effect. Every second can be critical to saving lives.â€
When asked about Rudd and Harber’s stance, Stuart Dedmon, Tennessee state president for Students for Concealed Carry, disagreed.
“His intuitions are understandable and not invalid,†Dedmon said. “However, in any serious domain of inquiry, people make decisions based upon the observable facts, rather than their gut feelings. The facts are on the side of campus carry advocates.â€
While the bill would allow armed campus carry, workers and faculty would still be banned from carrying firearms at other collegiate locations: stadiums or gymnasiums while school-sponsored events are in progress, meetings where disciplinary or tenure issues are being discussed, hospitals or offices where medical or mental health services are provided and any location prohibited by another law such as at day care centers or elementary schools located on campus.
The bill also requires firearms to be concealed, not openly carried, and any faculty member interested in carrying a weapon on campus would be required to notify the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the property.
“Campus carry is not about public safety, but rather personal safety (i.e. a student walking to their car or apartment after a night class),†Dedmon said. “The assumption that allowing permit holders in general to conceal on campus would pose a greater threat to students is simply a false narrative. In the states allowing permit holders to conceal on campus, it has become a non-event.â€
