As the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon is analyzed, Oregon’s state law concerning concealed weapons on campuses have been scrutinized.
Oregon is one of seven states that allow concealed weapons on public postsecondary campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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Since 2011, when the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled against the Oregon University System’s ban of guns, anyone with a permit could lawfully carry a concealed gun at public colleges and universities.
However, in 2012, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education adopted a policy that banned guns from “classrooms, buildings, dormitories, and sporting and entertainment events,” according to The Oregonian. Those restrictions covered the seven state universities under the authority of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education.
Anyone with a permit for a concealed weapon could be on those campuses, but they are barred from entering a building or sports arena.
For community colleges, restrictions vary.
At Umpqua Community College, as of March 2015, possessing firearms “without written authorization” at the college was a violation of the student code of conduct.
Like many laws throughout the United States, the decentralization and deference to local control makes gun laws difficult to analyze. When 23 states give every college or university the power to decide whether to ban concealed weapons on campus, the details get messy.
Whether encouraging conceal-and-carry on campus will make colleges safer is a difficult question to answer.
A 2012 investigation by Mother Jones argues that there’s no evidence that more guns will prevent mass shootings. However, if someone stops a mass shooting, by definition, it won’t be included in the data for mass shootings. ThinkProgress reported that a student at Umpqua Community College who had a concealed handgun was on campus during the shooting, which unfortunately didn’t improve the situation.
As the debate over gun control and restrictions continue, keep in mind that claims about a campus being a gun-free zone, or a place that allowed guns, usually need more nuance than that.
