WVU, Marshall oppose campus carry in letter to lawmakers

https://www.thedaonline.com/news/west_virginia/wvu-marshall-oppose-campus-carry-in-letter-to-state-lawmakers/article_1c9a35f6-975f-11ed-80cc-bf0d2195599a.html

"West Virginia University and Marshall University, the state’s largest institutions of higher education, have publicly opposed a “campus carry” bill moving through the state Senate.

On Wednesday, WVU President E. Gordon Gee and Marshall University President Brad D. Smith shared a joint letter with members of the state Senate Judiciary Committee addressing concerns over Senate Bill 10.

SB 10, or the Campus Self-Defense Act, would allow people with concealed firearm permits to carry on college and university campuses.

In the letter, Gee and Smith shared concerns over statewide campus carry, arguing that their “board of governors are best suited to decide whether guns should be permitted on campus.”

“We understand that there is significant support for campus carry in the Legislature. If the public policy preference of the Legislature is to permit guns on campus, we hope that the Legislature considers best practices and safeguards from other states with campus carry laws,” Gee and Smith said.

WVU's Faculty Senate issued a resolution in opposition to SB 10 on Tuesday, addressing similar concerns. They are asking lawmakers to "preserve institutional control" over decisions relating to concealed carry on campus.

In the resolution, they said, "The possession of firearms on WVU campuses by non-emergency personnel (faculty, staff, students, and visitors) may adversely affect the University including, but not limited to, public health impacts (e.g., accidents, suicides, and/or intent to cause fear or harm), the recruitment and retention of students, faculty, and staff, as well as the cost of compliance." (More)