The debate over guns in schools heated up on March 10, when the Senate Rules Committee approved a bill that would allow concealed weapons to be carried on Arizona community college and university campuses.
Senate Bill 1214 will go next to the Democratic and Republican caucuses and then will go to the Senate floor for a full vote.
The bill has been the subject of statewide debate and national attention since it was introduced to the state Legislature this session.
"We've had very, very good response, not only from people who are gun enthusiasts," said Sen. Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, the bill's primary sponsor.
Students and teachers at schools like ASU have been calling her office to show their support for the bill, Johnson said.
Prior to being heard last Monday in the Rules Committee — which determines the constitutionality of proposed legislation — SB 1214 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee along party lines, with Republican lawmakers supporting it and Democrats in opposition.
The committee also amended the bill, removing the original provisions for concealed weapons to be carried on kindergarten through 12th grade campuses. Johnson said she hopes SB 1214 will not be changed again by the Senate as a whole.
"I hope that we would keep it pretty much the way it is," Johnson said, "but you never can tell."
If the bill passes the Republican-dominated Senate floor, Johnson said that Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, may still veto the legislation.
"I think that possibility is very real," Johnson said.
Still, she said, a strong show of support for SB 1214 might have a bearing on the governor's decision.
"Those that have strong feelings on the issue should certainly call her office," Johnson said.
Thomas Dennis, an urban planning junior, said he thinks that college campuses are not the place for people to carry concealed weapons.
"A university is supposed to be a safe haven. It's an institution of learning," Dennis said. "Having more guns somewhere doesn't necessarily solve anything."
Protecting the campus should be up to the campus law enforcement, Dennis said, and allowing concealed weapons to be carried on campus would make him feel unsafe at school — especially in an active shooter scenario, such as at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University.
Though it was not on their official agenda, at their March 7 meeting, the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body for Arizona's public university system, spontaneously and unanimously voted to reaffirm their stance against SB 1214.
At the meeting, Regent Ernest Calderón said that if he were a student on campus, he would not be able to trust the responsibility of other student gun owners.
"I'm a member of the [National Rifle Association], and I don't apologize for that," Calderón said, "but guns are a liability."
Reporter Daniel Newhauser contributed to this story.
Reach the reporter at: leigh.munsil@asu.edu.
