State Representative Blake Carpenter (R-81) has introduced legislation that would knock down limitations on campus carry like the University of Kansas’s ban on carrying a semiautomatic handgun with a round in the chamber.
For anyone not familiar with semiautomatics, such handguns hold a certain number of rounds in the magazine and can hold one additional round in the chamber. Carrying the gun with a round in the chamber means the weapon is locked and loaded, ready to use in a second’s notice if a self-defense situation arises.
By banning a round in the chamber, the University of Kansas puts students in the position of having to draw their guns and work the action to put a bullet in the chamber. Doing this takes time, which is usually the one thing someone under attack cannot spare.
Rep. Carpenter wants to prevent universities and colleges from placing such restrictions on law-abiding students.
The Kansas City Star quoted Carpenter saying, “The bill originated when I found out that the universities and regents, they’re basically passing these policies that affect how an individual will carry their handgun. For me, I carry with a round in the chamber and I always do.”
State Representative Stephanie Clayton (R-19) opposes Carpenter’s efforts to remove barriers that keep armed students from being ready to defend themselves. She said Carpenter’s bill “is very reflective of, again, the anti-university, anti-intellectualism that you see from a certain subset of legislators.”
On January 16, 2017, the Associated Press reported that Clayton was pushing a bill “to allow campuses to continue to ban concealed … [weapons].” Democrat lawmakers joined her efforts.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.