Editorial: Let colleges set their own policies on concealed carry

Similar bills have been introduced before, but they’ve never been approved. The difference this time is that the Republican supermajority in both houses may be more friendly to campus carry.

The bill is full of details on when and where weapons may be carried, and it provides for a number of safety measures that would cost colleges and universities time and money to enforce.

Therein lies SB 10’s major weakness and its fatal flaw. The more complicated a law is, the more likely it is to cause problems rather than solve them.

SB 10 would not allow open carry. Any firearms must be concealed and carried by people with concealed carry permits.

Despite restrictions at Marshall University, West Virginia University and other state schools, concealed firearms are more common on campus than administrators care to admit. Undoubtedly there are many firearms on the Marshall campus today. They may be concealed in parked cars, or they may be hidden in purses. No one really knows or has a good guess on the number.

The fact is that these hidden weapons have yet to cause a problem on campus. A student is in more danger at a bar on 4th Avenue in Huntington on Saturday night or at a fraternity hazing ritual in Morgantown than he or she is in a history classroom.

But some people need that feeling of security a firearm or a knife gives them. They’re not a danger to anyone. Meanwhile, some people have an inordinate fear of guns, and knowing that someone near them practices concealed carry bothers them.

So where does the balance lie? In a complicated state law or in the policies set by the governing body of each school?

After Wednesday’s committee meeting, Marshall President Brad D. Smith and WVU President Gordon Gee released a joint statement affirming their belief that schools’ boards of governors are best suited to decide the question of when or how weapons may be carried on campus and how those policies should be enforced.

SB 10 is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. It may play well with firearm enthusiasts, but it does little to advance the cause of safety on campus. The policies in place at Marshall, WVU and smaller schools don’t appear to be causing any problems, so why should the Legislature insert itself into a situation the schools are handling well enough on their own?