Right now, concealed carry is allowed on public campus grounds, and schools have the option to ban them inside their buildings.
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As university officials lined up against a bill that would allow anyone with a concealed carry license to bring guns into buildings on college campuses, Gov. Scott Walker wouldn’t say Tuesday whether he supports the proposal.
The circulation memo to state lawmakers describes how a Nevada college student was raped at gunpoint in 2007. Kremer says allowing the weapons would deter crime in and around campus areas.
The University of Wisconsin system released a statement about the bill, saying ‘We have significant concerns and questions with this proposal and can not now support it’. Devin Lemahieu, R-Oostburg, are circulating the Campus Carry Act for co-sponsorship at the Capitol.
Wisconsin has become the latest state to debate expanding gun possession rights at universities after two Republican lawmakers proposed a bill that would allow guns inside buildings on University of Wisconsin campuses. The bill was introduced less than two-weeks after a gunman killed nine people at an Oregon community college. As a result, “students and others go unarmed while they’re on campuses and on their way to the institutions because they know they can’t enter buildings with their weapons or safely store them outside”. Current policies at UW-Madison allow concealed carry on university lands – but not in buildings.
UWM’s student president says an increase in mental health issues on college campuses is a concern, and is not in favor of allowing guns in the classroom.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all UW System campuses ban concealed weapons inside their buildings.
“I’d certainly have to look at the way the legislation is drafted but to me the real threat are not law-abiding citizens – it’s people who are possessing firearms illegally and are falling through the cracks when it comes to social services”, Walker said.
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The Kewaskum Republican said he’s been working on the legislation for months, due to concerns about a general rise in violent crime on and around campuses. “Someone who has gone through and been certified and been able to carry is not someone I’m concerned with in any circumstances”.
