Published: March 20, 2008 10:43 pm            

OU faculty: No guns in class

NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma faculty spoke out this week against a state bill that would allow people to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.

The OU Faculty Senate passed a resolution against the bill early this week, despite being off for spring break.

The resolution was e-mailed to the 50 members of the senate Monday, and by Tuesday the members approved it by 27 out of 30 votes, said Steve Bradford, chair of the Faculty Senate.

The bill that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses around the state was approved 65-36 by the Oklahoma House March 13. It will now be considered by the state Senate.

The bill authorizes active-duty military personnel, honorably discharged veterans and others with firearms training to carry a concealed weapon on college and university campuses.

The bill is supported by the National Rifle Association and received bipartisan support in the House. The Council of Presidents, made up of the presidents of the state’s 25 public colleges and universities, unanimously passed a resolution earlier this month opposing the bill.

OU President David Boren also released a statement, lambasting legislators who support the bill. He said the state should stick to the laws that have worked well in the past and allow colleges to continue to improve campus safety.

“If it would help for me to get down on my knees to plead with the legislature for the safety of our students, I would do so,” he said.

The Faculty Senate resolution also cites safety as the reason for opposition to the bill.

“We believe that allowing guns on our campus would endanger the safety of our students, faculty and staff,” the resolution reads. “Furthermore, we, the faculty, cannot imagine being able to conduct class in a classroom where one or more of our students might be armed. We cannot imagine students being able to concentrate on a class, knowing that some of their fellow students might be armed.”

Bradford said the resolution was e-mailed this week because the issue is important. The history professor said he is a veteran himself.

“I would qualify to carry a gun, and I have no aversion to guns, but I just think this is not a good idea,” Bradford said.

He said he didn’t know if the Staff Senate had passed a resolution yet.

OU staff member Alisa Simpson said Thursday she wasn’t sure the state bill would make campuses safer.

“With all the recent college shootings, it would kind of freak me out,” she said. She said she trusted the coworkers she knew to carry concealed weapons responsibly, but wasn’t too sure about those she didn’t know.

Arva Osburn works full-time in the bursar’s office and is a part-time student. She said she wasn’t sure if she would want her classmates to carry concealed weapons.

“I think it’s a big responsibility for as young as some of them are,” she said.

In the end, she said she wasn’t sure about the law.

“I’m torn,” Osburn said. “I mean, it’s one of those that it might make it easier to stop someone (dangerous) sooner, but it might be scary knowing so many people are carrying weapons.”



Julianna Parker writes for the Norman (Okla.) Transcript.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.