Arkansas Poised to Allow Guns On College Campuses

The state legislature has passed a bill on its way to the governor

Better not turn in that paper late. Your college professor could be packing heat.

The Arkansas state legislature has passed a bill allowing college campuses to decide whether to allow faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns. The Arkansas bill would not allow students to carry concealed weapons. Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat is expected to sign the measure into law, Reuters reports.

The issue has been hotly debated nationwide following several campus shootings in recent years, including the 2007 incident at the Virginia Tech University campus in Blacksburg.

Arkansas would be the 24th state to let colleges or universities decide for themselves whether to allow concealed carry of weapons on campus, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states already allow students to carry concealed weapons, Reuters said.

Via Reuters

What concealed weapon situation on campus would you prefer for you or your child?

[Sonny]

That sounds just Great!...So now, after a hard-fought college football game. The kids can go to any number of parties on campus, get drunk...have a few fights...Then remember that they have this gun---So why bother to fist-fight this out...lets just start throwing lead all over campus...Great Idea!

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

You must have been horrible in college if this is how your thought process went back then.

[Sonny]

@Neo_NtheMatrix How about if it was not so "horrible"---just an eyewitness to someone else who was..? Ever thought about that possibility?

[justapirate]

You read a different article than I did? Students aren't included in the 'allowable column'.

[Sonny]

@justapirate .........."according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states even allow students to carry concealed weapons, Reuters said......." That is actually IN the article....

[justapirate]

@Sonny ... and that is not the bill being discussed, is it?

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

What is the problem with letting students carry concealed weapons? I support allowing faculty to carry, but students need this 2nd Amendment right too. How many professors have been raped as opposed to students? Everyone, and I do mean every law abiding citizen, should have the right to protect themselves, especially when they are in dangerous situations.

[Sonny]

Because everybody is "law-abiding" until they are not law-abiding...I would no more trust some "kid" college running around with a loaded gun, then I would trust YOU with one. No thanks!

[NTBFW]

@Sonny my daughter is a student at one of these schools. She carries everywhere she goes except on campus. Why would she act any differently on campus than off? She hasn't shot anyone. This argument you keep making about what if a good guy goes bad is getting ridiculous. Have you somehow found a way to convict people for future crimes? If you have then you have completely solved all the worlds crime problems. All we need to do is have you going around pointing out who is about to do something and we put them in jail. And no more victims!

[Russell797]

@Sonny Absolutely correct. New "criminals" are not only born every day, they also transition from being "law abiding" to none "law abiding" in an instant of time. Trust people with guns? Provoke the wrong person with a gun and don't be surprised at what happens now and then.

[NTBFW]

@Sonny I raised my kids well enough to be able to trust mine. And it makes me feel a lot better knowing she has a way to protect herself. Girls have been raped on campus before you know. I want her to have more than a damn whistle.

[Russell797]

@NTBFW You are missing the point. We can't necessarily point out which gun owner will in a moment of non-discretion "loose it" or make a fatal error in judgement. The more people are given the opportunity to screw up, the more they will because people are not perfect.

[Colonel_Angus]

Yes, because the Cho's, the Holmes's, Lanza's don't care if they're allowed or not. I guarantee you you'd see an end to these "fish in the barrel" shootings, or psychotic gunman mowed down before they did much harm. There are documented instances of teachers at schools who've gone out to their cars, gotten a gun and stopped a potential massacre. We've seen psychos massacre unarmed people because they KNEW they'd be unarmed, but we've never seen a LICENSED TO CARRY individual carry out his own or her own massacre with such licensed weapon, however.

[DapperDave]

Uh, you're just making up fairy tales as you go along, Colonel. Surely you can provide us with proof of the the "documented instances" (plural) where a teacher left a school, went and retrieved a weapon from their vehicle, came back and stopped a massacre in progress or stopped a gunman who was planning a massacre. We'll wait patiently for your proof of these "documented instances".

[thumper11]

@DapperDave,
If you had the slightest interest in the truth, you would download the instances of mass school shootings from the internet, put into a spreadsheet, and graph the number killed vs. time. Then you would see for yourself - the dramatic increase beginning in 1991 (when they invented the "gun-free zone"). Wikipedia has a good page, but there are others.

[SomethinsFishy]

@DapperDave Google them. It's a waste of good effort to provide folks like you with proof. You'll just say it was made up by rightwingnuts. Do visit this web site
www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/ragingagainstselfdef... (A Psychiatrist Examines the Anti-Gun Mentality"); www.jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/seven-vars-2.htm (The 7 Varieties of Gun Control Advocate); www.jpfo.org/pdf03/gun-facts-v6.0-screen.pdf
Gun Facts (Everything YOU DON'T want to know about guns and their owners and will deny until the day you die). Just saying "there are none so blind as those who refuse to see".

[SomethinsFishy]

@DapperDave P.S. We're not like your fearful leaders, i.e. Dianne Feinstein, and her outrageous lie of "one of out every 5 police officers killed is killed with an assault weapon". For debunking THAT Big Lie, just go to www.lawofficer.com and search for the November/December 2012 issue. This is a magazine BY COPS FOR COPS (and retired cops like me).

[mrcat]

@DapperDave I think this is the documented instance he's referring too:

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12...

[AceLuby]

Drunk hormonal teenagers with loaded firearms... yeah... no possible problems there...

[PNWest]

Sorry ace didn't see you comment before I posted pretty much the same thought.

[AceLuby]

@PNWest No reason to apologize, people should think 2, 3... 10 times before jumping on the 'let's arm everyone' bandwagon. It's as bad of an idea and as illogical as disarming everyone.

[Yank]

You realize they can still have guns off campus, and if they decided to do something just bring them on campus.

[Denizen_Kate]

Combine testosterone with alcohol, add gun powder ... what could possibly go wrong?

[AceLuby]

@Yank And making it easier to do so makes it better, how exactly?

[fistv]

Keep in mind that the VA tech shooting did not happen until after they outlawed faculty, staff and students and even off duty police taking classes there from carrying or possessing on campus. These cowards that shoot unarmed people don't want concealed carry, they might get shot.

[DARSB]

In fact, at Virgina Tech Cho continued his rampage because law enforcement on the scene failed to see past the initial double murders - they had no idea the rampage was continuing in other parts of the campus. http://goo.gl/Ybx5I

[Medicinebow]

@DARSB Just think....if one student had been allowed to carry concealed they might have stopped it. Gun free zones.......helping the crazy continue their acts. Disarming the law abiding works great, just like in this example.

[Concerned_Cit]

Perhaps that's why certain people in this country want to take away people's guns, so they will be easier to round up and exterminate, just like in WWII. An unarmed person is a slave to those that are armed.

[ZombieMedic]

@Concerned_Cit Yep, that last sentence says it all.

[ZombieMedic]

The main reason these mass killers pick Gun Free Zones, even though they are suicidal killers, is they want to kill as many people as they can before they themselves get killed or commit suicide, because they want to get their 15 minutes of fame that the Mainstream and Fox medias will give them. They are copycat killers and fame seekers, depressives who want to become infamous, and the media encourages them!

[DrFunkenstein]

Great! now Arkansas can be just like Texas where those 2 morons last month got into a fight and one pulled out a gun (because like all gun owners, he's a coward that can't fight without pulling out a gun) and the other moron pulled out a gun and then they proceeded to shoot up the campus and kill innocent bystanders. The problem in this country is not guns, the problem is that it's mostly cowardly morons that want guns, carry guns and use guns. So what we need to do is make laws for when someone uses a gun in a non-life threatening situation then we beat them until they are dead. They all want to be Wyatt Earp well then let's let them be just like him, dead and in the ground.

[Knuckleballer]

"because like all gun owners, he's a coward that can't fight without pulling out a gun"

along with "cowardly morons that want guns, carry guns and use guns."

As a decorated combat veteran and gun owner I find your comment to be personally insulting. Name calling in place of reasoned rational commentary speaks volumes for your character....

[NTBFW]

@Knuckleballer also this bill doesn't allow students to carry anyway. So he is not even close to in topic. Typical.

[DrFunkenstein]

@Knuckleballer I didn't call any names, I simply stated fact based on evidence. I have never met a person carrying a gun that wasn't a scared little coward. Unless you are in war or a police officer, you do not need a gun.

[Knuckleballer]

@DrFunkenstein Put any spin you like on your comments you wish.

I am a gun owner as are many of my friends.... NONE of them would fit your comment.... "because like all gun owners, he's a coward that can't fight without pulling out a gun"

Several of them are highly decorated combat veterans, hardly cowards. I've lived my life as to never tolerate acting like or tolerating being called a coward.

Your generalizations are highly insulting to many men who put their lives on the line so people like you would have the right to call them whatever you want. Just be certain that you don't confuse having the right to act with the wisdom of acting.

"dead and in the ground.".... nice comment... spin away, I'm just hoping at some point you have the courage to make those same comments when you don't have the protection of the anonymity of a fake name on the internet, but I doubt it will happen.

Calling someone a coward face to face takes courage as you've not demonstrated by your actions here.

Don't bother apologizing, it's likely a stretch of character and frankly an asked for apology is about as useless as ...... well.... how did you describe yourself?

[WMCOL]

Would be victory for freedom and liberty. Students should have to meet same age requirements to carry gun as non-students.

[DapperDave]

Why stop at college campuses? Arkansas should just go ahead and allow high school and middle school students to have guns too. And if grade schoolers can prove they have sufficient strength to carry and fire a weapon they should be allowed to have guns at school as well. The only good thing that may come of this is some of these gun loving kooks will wipe each other out before they have a chance to reproduce yet another generation of gun loving kooks.

[thumper11]

One can only wonder as to the source of your interminable hatred for your fellow-law-abiding Americans. I hope they keep you locked up indefinitely.

[PNWest]

Lot's of beer, booze, drugs, and drunken late teen-early 20's frat boys. What could possibly go wrong?

[NTBFW]

Did miss the part that allowed students to concealed carry? I don't see that part. Oh no! It's not there.

[PNWest]

@NTBFW You are right. I was thinking about my college days and didn't look closely enough.

[NTBFW]

But it would be nice if my daughter could carry all the time. I am supporting efforts to allow students to carry.

[PNWest]

@NTBFW If she's gonna have a gun be sure to train her well. Actually I'm sure that you already have.

[NTBFW]

@PNWest yes she is pretty good.

[justapirate]

Show of hands- how many actually read the bloomin' article. It didn't say they were arming students. Sheesh!

[g4me]

Looks like the majority didnt bother to read the article before popping off on the keyboard. Makes you wonder if thats a regular occurrence in these peoples lives....

[DapperDave]

@g4me My hand is NOT up! Yet and still I see the potential for the gun of a faculty member or staff person falling into the hands of a student and all hell breaking loose.

[justapirate]

@DapperDave I can see the potential for a cop's gun to fall into the wrong hands ( and that has happened) so therefore we MUST disarm cops. Is that what you're saying?

[DapperDave]

@justapirate Uh, sure. Since you want to serve up childish rants involving idiotic "leaps in (il)logic" I'll just let you have your way. Have a happy life.

[justapirate]

@DapperDave Don't like being called out, eh?

[WVMountYouNear]

I support the right to carry for faculty & students. As far as the students? They are old enough to go to war and shoot guns in defense of our country... They are old enough to be responsible enough to defend themselves on campus also.~ Bearing arms against enemies foreign and domestic is a responsibility... a responsibility young adults should engage. The matter of training is their own responsibility as well.~ All that is called "freedom".

[thumper11]

Well said.

[Drake_Burrwood]

First you do not carry and drink, second someone who drinks to "excess" is liable to have problems getting a concealed carry.

[BelinKS]

I feel like letting all faculty and staff to be allowed to carry a concealed carry on campus is too broad! There needs to be a vetting process to determine at what level(as stated the janitor could carry), what is the mental state of the individual, a thorough mental exam including all past medical records including mental, and a thorough background check! Plus each individual considered fit to carry has to complete courses on gun use and safety. They need to have x amount of hours at the firing range, not including the time it took to learn how to use the weapon. That way their reflexes would be refined and any shot they take makes its mark.
Personally I'm more concerned that school age children get protection via armed policemen!

[Dan_Tien]

"A dog shot my homework."

[tomincali]

the way i see it thugs will have theirs never a reason for a law abiding citizen to be unarmed unless they choose to be.

[Bobolinsky]

Wise words for the mayor of Gunthersville, Alabama... especially during a disaster.

Proposed Guntersville ordinance sparks controversy

"A proposed disaster emergency ordinance in Guntersville is causing controversy... The ordinance states officers could disarm individuals, if necessary."
http://www.waaytv.com/news/local/proposed-gun...

[tomincali]

@Bobolinsky the folks i know who was stuck after katrina had to fend for themselves for quite awhile,disarming those trying to protect themselves would mean turning them into victims.

whats the plan, disarm them and the criminal element sees and knows this while hiding and keeping their own until the cops leave?

[NTBFW]

Who is this that wrote the first line of that article? That's the stupidest inflammatory thing I've seen here yet. Why would anyone say that. The idea that a professor might actually try to save a life by being able to protect them self or maybe a student is so terrible that the writer assumes they would shoot a student is so twisted.
That's BS and you know it.

[culinary]

I'm a college professor and think this is an excellent idea. What is our current policy to save yourself if threatened by a shooter? Throw something at them. Yeah, that's gonna work.

[NTBFW]

That's a great point. I have heard the argument that its better to let the shooter to continue shooting than risk accidentally shooting an innocent bystander.

[ZombieMedic]

@NTBFW The antigun people actually want more people to get killed, because it gives them more TV airtime to hollar about taking more guns away from everyone.

[AlexMIA]

These stupid laws never kept me from carrying at school anyways.

[Concerned_Cit]

Same here, bans against carrying firearms are unconstitutional so they are best ignored.

[AlexMIA]

@Concerned_Cit I don't know if they are best ignored, but look around, alot of the things being passed or floated around these days can easily turn a law abiding citizen into an outlaw. I guess it's amazing what you can get use to.

[Concerned_Cit]

@AlexMIA The old saying that "people have a civic duty not to obey unjust laws" perhaps would have been a better choice of words instead of ignored. Yes, the more laws that are passed, the more criminals are created. If enough laws are passed, everyone is a criminal.

[Politic-n]

Same here also. I don't have to have a CCL since I am an LEO at the moment, but even before I entered law enforcement I carried concealed without a license. Most people do I've found out, but I've never given anyone a hard time over having a gun on them unless they had a violent criminal record or were acting extremely stupid. Many police feel the same as I do, that guns in the hands of good citizens makes our jobs that much easier and safer by reducing crime rates. Unfortunately many of the political police officers, such as police chiefs, are on the take and are bribed by antigun people to say the contrary. Police corruption is rampant sad to say, but I guess that is the case with most positions of authority. Glad I'll be retiring in just a few more years.

[AlexMIA]

@Politic-n Some of my cop friends are very hard on crime but don't harrass people over some of the sillier laws as well. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement, stay safe til then. How much time do you have in?

[Yank]

Based on the leftist response to this article it seems that every where, outside of these gun free zones, are filled with drunken teen shooting at everything that moves

[Concerned_Cit]

More fearmongering by the people who want to disarm the general populace. When reason and logic are not part of a campaign, they resort to emotional rhetoric, sophistry.

[ErnestPayne]

They are continuing the centuries old american tradition of learning nothing and forgetting nothing. Any chance anyone can sue these fools in the very likely event of a campus killing?