MSA opposes concealed carry on campus

A resolution in opposition to concealed carry passed 14-9-2.

By Amanda Wysocki

Published April 16, 2009

An amendment from the Missouri state legislature saying those with concealed carry permits could carry their weapons on college campuses prompted discussion within the Missouri Students Association Senate on Wednesday.

Ultimately, the resolution to oppose the amendment passed through the MSA Senate Wednesday night, with 14 in favor, 9 against and 2 abstaining.

The bill came up for a vote in the Missouri House of Representatives on Thursday and passed.

The House bill provided an amendment for weapons on college campuses, which concerned MSA Senate Speaker Amanda Shelton.

"For weapons to be introduced into any environment where they were presumably not present before, quite a bit of exploratory work is warranted to ensure that the change will provide a net benefit to safety," Shelton said.

Shelton began doing research into large-scale campus and community shootings in order to find possible benefits of having concealed carry on campuses, she said. Her findings led her to co-sponsor legislation in opposition to the proposed amendment.

At the full Senate meeting Wednesday night, both viewpoints were well represented when they began debating this resolution.

MSA Senator Brian Roach co-sponsored Shelton's legislation and spoke in favor of it three separate times over the course of the meeting.

"It is my opinion that the proposed bill in the Missouri house would endanger the student's right to a safe learning environment," Roach said. "Moreover, it was absolutely necessary, in my opinion, for MSA to take a stand on this issue."

Roach said it is the obligation of the student government to ensure safety on campus.

MSA Operations Committee Chairman Josh Travis was outspoken about his desire to table the legislation until further research could be done.

"I felt that the Senate was simply not in a strong enough position to take a stance on this issue, nor do I believe the current situation calls for such haste on our part," Travis said.

Travis said he also doesn't believe the passage of this law would lead to a massive increase in the number of dangerous situations or of students with guns.

"The fact, as shown by Columbine, Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech, is that if someone wanted to do harm with a firearm, they could do so," Travis said. "That is a danger that will unfortunately always be present."

Shelton, Travis and Roach all expected there would be a significant amount of debate over this issue.

Shelton said she was not surprised by the divided response of the Senate.

"Both limiting and expanding second amendment rights are nearly always contentious, and I was ecstatic with the amount of research and thought that senators put into their arguments at our last meeting," Shelton said.

Travis said he doesn't think discussion and philosophy on gun policy can be looked at separately.