While Texas has been front and center in the news with the push for Open and Campus Carry, lawmakers in Florida and Arkansas made big gains in the push for various types of Campus Carry in their states during the past week.
During the debates in Florida, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that Senate Criminal Justice Committee chairman Greg Evers (R-Baker) said, “The problem is that in gun-free zones, that we have on college campuses right now, those gun-free zones are just an incubator for folks that don’t follow the law.”
Evers’ Campus Carry legislation–Senate Bill 176–passed in committee on a 3-2 vote on February 16.
SB176 was unsuccessfully opposed by Senator Audrey Gibson (D-Gainesville), who said legislation allowing students to carry guns for self-defense “send the wrong message not only to… students within the state of Florida, but people who may intend to come to Florida for college.”
Meanwhile, in Arkansas, representative Charlie Collins (R-Fayetteville) says there are now enough votes to pass his bill legalizing Campus Carry for college and university faculty and staff.
According to 5 News, Collins’ bill had previously stalled in committee but regained momentum after an amendment was added to require “16 hours additional gun training for faculty who want to carry concealed handguns on campus.”
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