The sponsor of a bill allowing people over the age of 21 with concealed-carry permits to have guns on campus announced Tuesday that the bill was dead, prompting mixed reactions from students.
Student leaders, police, ASU’s administration and the Arizona Board of Regents had previously expressed opposition to Senate Bill 1474, sponsored by Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu.
Tempe Police Sgt. Jeffrey Glover said the bill would have created more work for both Tempe and ASU police departments to preserve student safety.
“It’s probably best that the bill didn’t pass, considering that you’ve had several recent shootings in college towns,” Glover said.
The Arizona Students’ Association and Undergraduate Student Government worked to mobilize student opposition to the bill.
Political science senior and USG President Jacob Goulding said USG chose to oppose the bill because it did not represent student concerns.
“If students had made an issue of (wanting to carry guns on campus), we would have worked with them to make it happen,” he said.
History senior Kathryn Zurmehly said she would have been glad to see the bill pass, so she could feel safer if she had to walk the on campus at night.
“Concealed carry is a lot safer for females,” she said. “Most guys are a lot bigger and stronger than us, and we need to be able to end any trouble.”
Zurmehly, a member of Army ROTC, said she grew up with guns and has been trained in gun safety before she was physically big enough to fire one.
She said the same safety skills would not be difficult for other students to learn.
“If you can drive a car safely, you can carry a gun safely,” Zurmehly said.
She said if the bill had passed, she would have expected groups on campus to approach gun safety awareness the same way they promote safe sex practices.
Army ROTC cadet Chad Richman, a political science junior, said he did not feel strongly either way about SB 1474.
He said people who intend to use their weapons for harm or believe they really need them for safety would carry them regardless of the bill, while other students would not feel the need to bring their firearms on campus.
“Even when I’m in places where people are allowed to carry (guns), I still don’t carry,” Richman said. “I just don’t see the reason to.”
He said the idea of being allowed to have guns on campus at night made sense, but there is no reason to carry them in between classes during the day.
The bill would have permitted universities to ban firearms from buildings, but only if they provided gun lockers and security personnel outside the buildings.
Political science senior James Baumer, USG vice president of policy, said the decision to allow guns should not have been debated by the State Legislature.
“We didn’t want to make this an issue of whether or not guns should be on campuses,” Baumer said. “That’s a matter for each of the universities to decide.”
Baumer said he and other members of USG were happy that the cooperation between students, administration and ABOR resulted in the decision to drop the bill.
Student leaders had personally met with legislators and encouraged dissenters of the bill to call or email legislators with their concerns.
Criminology junior and Undergraduate Student Government Downtown President Joseph Grossman said the bill’s failure represents the effort students have put into making their voices heard at the Capitol.
“Overall, it’s been a win for students,” Grossman said. “Higher education has been winning and students have been winning.”
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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