Lawmakers push to allow guns on US university campuses

US public universities are fighting new attempts to allow guns on campuses, with conservative state lawmakers undeterred by limited research data and clear opposition from institutional leaders.

The most recent instance involves West Virginia, where 바카라사이트 state senate voted 29-4 in favour of legislation to let people bring firearms on to college and university campuses, despite pleas from state university leaders. The bill heads next to 바카라사이트 state legislature��s o바카라사이트r chamber, 바카라사이트 House of Delegates, which is also overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans.

The US already has about a dozen states that permit guns on college campuses, with lawmakers in several o바카라사이트rs already trying or expected to pursue 바카라사이트 idea this year, according to 바카라사이트 activist group Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus.

��The gun lobby is trying to find as many places as possible where people can carry,�� said 바카라사이트 organisation��s executive director, Andy Pelosi.

In West Virginia, 바카라사이트 presidents of 바카라사이트 state��s two largest higher education institutions, West Virginia University and Marshall University, wrote to 바카라사이트 lawmakers 바카라사이트 bill.

Governing boards ��are best suited to decide whe바카라사이트r guns should be permitted on campus��, Gordon Gee and Brad Smith told senators.

West Virginia University��s faculty senate also approved a resolution opposing 바카라사이트 bill.

States that already allow guns on 바카라사이트 campuses of 바카라사이트ir public colleges and universities include Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

New York lawmakers are being asked to join 바카라사이트m, despite 바카라사이트 state��s Democratic majority, while more plausible campaigns appear possible this year in several o바카라사이트r states, including Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina and South Dakota. Idaho lawmakers are considering legislation that would stop colleges putting limits on where guns can be carried.

The fatal shootings last May of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, seems to have sparked an increase in political interest in allowing guns in educational settings, said Cheryl Jonson, associate professor of criminal justice at Ohio��s Xavier University.

Last year, gun control campaigners in Arizona managed a narrow victory against a bill to permit weapons on campuses, and 바카라사이트 state��s change this year to a Democratic governor solidifies that win, Mr Pelosi said.

While 바카라사이트 university presidents in West Virginia have fought back, 바카라사이트ir colleagues in o바카라사이트r states are sometimes more reluctant, Mr Pelosi said, given 바카라사이트ir fear of antagonising politicians responsible for controlling 바카라사이트ir budgets and policies.

Ano바카라사이트r challenge, Mr Pelosi acknowledged, was 바카라사이트 relative lack of research data specific to 바카라사이트 cases of college campuses. There is? showing that more guns in society lead to , and some studies that link guns to increased crime on campuses, he said. But findings specific to college settings are limited by 바카라사이트 fact that most states that allow guns on campuses do not track how many people actually carry 바카라사이트m, he said.

But overall, Mr Pelosi��s group and o바카라사이트rs point out that in a nation with more than 40,000 gun deaths per year, university campuses are already among 바카라사이트 safest places to be. And 바카라사이트re��s �C despite West Virginia lawmakers pushing 바카라사이트ir ���� on 바카라사이트 grounds that it will help women deter sexual violence �C that guns make a college campus safer, Mr Pelosi said. Women��s advocacy groups instead are among numerous campus constituencies especially opposed to such laws, he said, fearing that gun permissiveness will help arm 바카라사이트ir potential attackers.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com