As a North Carolina conference committee debates a bill allowing concealed carry permit holders to bring firearms on college campuses, students from across the state are speaking out against the legislation.
House Bill 937 would allow those with concealed-carry permits to keep firearms in a locked vehicle on college campuses. Though the bill hasn’t yet been passed, student body presidents from 11 of the 17 schools in the University of North Carolina system have sent letters to the General Assembly opposing the bill.
“The Student Body Presidents believe that concealed handguns would detract from a healthy learning environment; that more guns on campus would create an additional risk for students; that shooters would not be deterred by concealed carry permit holders; and, concealed carry permit holders are not required to have law enforcement training,” the proclamation states, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Student body presidents at Appalachian State University, East Carolina University and University of North Carolina, Asheville, among others, signed the decree. Robert Nunnery, president of the University of North Carolina system Association of Student Governments, also lent his signature.
“As we stand together, and whatever comes our way, our hope remains the same — let no person ever say that the student body wasn’t willing to ripple the waters,” Nunnery told The Winston-Salem Journal.
In order to obtain a concealed-carry permit in North Carolina, one must pass a background check, successfully complete a firearms safety and training course, and be at least 21 years of age.
Despite these requirements, many of the student body presidents fear the law — if passed — could put students in danger.
“As a country we have had far too many instances in which innocent educators and students have lost their lives to gun violence,” Dylan Russell, student body president at Appalachian State, wrote in a letter to lawmakers. “I feel that this proposed legislation will offer a gateway for such instances to occur on our own campus.”
In addition to their pleas, the students’ proclamation included opposition statements from the police chiefs of the 17 University of North Carolina system campuses and Tom Ross, the system’s president.
