Concealed Guns Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Tempers Flare In House Debate Over Arming Teachers

House Bill 4299 permits staff in K-12 schools to be authorized to carry concealed firearms, along with tasers and stun guns, and become a designated school protection officer, or SPO.

A contentious debate over the much-talked-about bill on third reading to arm teachers as concealed carry protection officers took place in the House of Delegates on Wednesday.

House Bill 4299 permits staff in K-12 schools to be authorized to carry concealed firearms, along with tasers and stun guns, and become a designated school protection officer, or SPO. The bill states that any SPO would be on a voluntary basis.

The bill gives county school districts the option to establish, or not establish, SPOs at their schools. A bill amendment raised would mandate that a school district must assign a teacher who decided on their own to take the full training, in concealed carry and crisis intervention, to be an armed SPO.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, opposed the amendment. He said it rejects the original choice for school districts to opt in or out of having School Resource Officers.

“This amendment would force the school system to allow guns into schools with school protection officers,” Hansen said. “Even if they have made a policy decision to go another route with the School Resource Officers, or the school security officers. It overrides that local control.”

Del. Todd Kirby, R-Raleigh, was among several who supported a teacher’s right to opt in as an SPO themselves.

“Any teacher, any school personnel is going to pick up the mantle and take on this responsibility, which is voluntary in nature,” Kirby said. “So, it is permissive. That allows individual teachers to make up their own mind as to whether or not they think this is good for them or their classroom. But if we allow it to be quote unquote, permissive with the school boards, then you might as well not even pass this bill.”

The amendment passed 79-21.

In debating the bill itself, Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, opposed the proposal, worrying about safety and implementation.

“I’m worried that there was such little training, that these folks are not going to be accurately prepared to do this,” Young said. “I think that in this legislature, we’ve already passed really good stuff to keep kids safe in schools this year, the school guardian bill to allow those law enforcement officers who have like 25 weeks of training to come back into the schools and protect our kids.”

Del. Chris Phillips, R-Barbour, supported the bill, speaking as a parent who got a school lockdown call.

“We had a student hold an entire classroom hostage in school,” he said. “I had my son and my niece and at that moment, all I cared about was it. All I hoped for was that there was someone there to protect my son. Unfortunately, there wasn’t. The teacher did everything she could, got the kids against the wall, said if they come in, we’ll try to take them down.”

Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, opposed the bill to arm teachers, saying there is no public consensus for the measure.

“Not a single expert came in and said, ‘We need this legislation.’ Not a single principal came in and said, ‘I want this for my schools.’ Nobody from the school district came in and said, ‘We need this legislation.’ We sat through the committee process, none of that came up. No parental notification, no student notification,” Fluharty said.

Bill co-sponsor Kirby said the proposal safeguards school classrooms and acts as a proactive school shooter deterrent.

“This just provides an additional layer that would make anyone that wants to come into our schools and harm our beautiful children, make them think twice about doing that,” Kirby said. “Because the classroom they go into, there could be an armed teacher, or an armed personnel member that would confront them and stop the reign of terror.”

After lengthy back and forth debate continued along party lines, HB 4299 passed 89-11 and now goes to the Senate.

W.Va. Universities, Colleges Preparing For Campus Carry Law

After years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session.

After years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session. The new law authorized the concealed carry of firearms in certain areas of college and university campuses. It takes effect July 1, 2024.

West Virginia’s institutions of higher education largely opposed campus carry. Campus leaders at big and small schools said they’ll need that much time to prepare.

Marshall University’s enrollment is a little more than 13,000. In the Eastern Panhandle, Shepherd University has just over 3,000 students. Both schools have campus carry committees and task forces that include administration, faculty, staff and students. Marshall Director of Public Safety Jim Terry said there are a wide variety of policy decisions on the table.

“We have a small group of senior leadership,” Terry said. “We’ve put together an action learning team made up of constituents from every facet of the university to go out and look at best practice, best policy.”

Holly Morgan Frye, vice president for Student Affairs, and the director of Community Relations at Shepherd University, said her school’s campus carry task force also includes attorneys and members of the residence life team.

Both schools now allow no firearms on campus. SB10 will permit concealed carry in classrooms and public areas, but not in stadiums and day care facilities. Frye said Shepherd’s key concern highlights student mental health and suicide issues.

“Everybody knows that the mental health issues on a college campus are on an increase,” Frye said. “We are getting ready to hire a fourth counselor. We have an enrollment of a little more than 3,000, and we feel that it’s critical that we have that fourth counselor because of the mental health issues.”

Marshall senior Abbey McBrayer said the chilling, anxious effect of COVID-19 still lingers on campus. She said campus carry could make it worse.

“A lot of people my age still feel uncomfortable being out on campus and going to like classrooms and things like that,” McBrayer said. “I think knowing that somebody could just have a gun in a classroom is kind of going to add to that. And then I mean, our counseling services are already kind of bogged down.”

Frye said she worries whether campus carry will affect enrollment for border schools like Shepherd. She believes the costs of ensuring campus safety will demand a larger police force.

Terry said the initial estimate for Marshall’s firearm security could reach $400,000, while Frye said the Shepherd cost could be several times that. Both point to residence halls, where guns are not allowed in dorm rooms, but are allowed in lunch rooms and lounges.

“I think that we’re going to have to be providing safes in order for any of our residential students who choose to carry to be able to lock those guns away when they are in their residential rooms,” Frye said. “We have already heard from our residential assistants with concerns about how they will manage that. For example, what will they do if they see somebody who has a gun? What will be the process?”

Terry said the school will have to create a new firearms policy when secondary school age visitors use campus facilities and with campus buildings jointly owned by public and private entities. He said there are no provisions in the law made for violation of campus carry policies, civil or criminal.

“We’re going to have to get with the county prosecutor,” Terry said. “There are no criminal statutes and there are no penalties attached to that code. If a person sees half a holster sticking out from underneath a jacket, and they call it in, he’s not violated the law. But we have nothing in place for a shirt raising up or something like that.”

Marshall freshman Jonathan Willman agreed with all the safeguards and security measures needed. However, he sees campus carry as a defensive necessity.

“I plan to carry myself when I get my concealed carry license,” Willman said. “We aren’t the people you have to worry about, it’s the people that break the laws. The bill allows kids to be able to defend themselves from people like that, who are already breaking the law and shooting up schools and campuses.”

11th Hour Campus Carry Amendments Fail

Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, proposed an amendment that would give campuses a housing option for students who do not want those with firearms living in the building.

Opponents of the contentious Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Bill, which would allow the concealed carry of firearms on college campuses (with limitations), tried to get two 11th hour exemption amendments passed.

Resigned to the fact that the campus carry bill has overwhelming legislative support, Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, proposed an amendment that would give campuses a housing option for students who do not want those with firearms living in the building.

“There are some students, they’re going to say no, we don’t want to go to West Virginia, Marshall, Concord, Fairmont. So, we’re going to work with our legislature, and we’re going to give you reasonable living accommodations too,” Hornbuckle said. “We’re not going to lose any money from tuition by turning students away. Matter of fact, we’re going to be more marketable. We’re going to be able to go out across the country and we’re going to be able to appease every single student. If you’re somebody who wants to live with firearms in your residence halls, we will allow you to do that. If you’re the student that just doesn’t feel right. Well, we will make reasonable accommodations.”

Del. Moore Capito, R- Kanawha, said campuses already had that option under the proposed law and Hornbuckle’s amendment failed.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, proposed an amendment striking the provisional carry permit which would not allow 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to have a gun on campus, saying those students had not gained the maturity to carry firearms.

“Suicide among teenagers is an issue in West Virginia, and one that I think we need to pay attention to and this bill is relevant to this amendment, because it’s tough for kids who are going to school for the first time,” Hansen said. “Seventeen-year-olds, 18-year-olds, so many kids on campus haven’t spent a substantial amount of time away from home before. They’re meeting new people from different walks of life, they may or may not agree with them. They’re under a lot of stress, trying to study and get good grades. And there’s a mental health crisis at our universities.”

Del. Bill Ridenhour, R-Jefferson, a former Marine, said he put his life and trust in the hands of many 18- and 19-year-olds and they should have the legal right for concealed carry.

Hansen said Marine firearms training was vastly different from student firearms training but his amendment was also defeated.

Senate Bill 10 comes up for third reading Tuesday in the House.

Opposition Dominates Public Debate On Campus Carry Bill

Will allowing the concealed carry of firearms on campus add more protection or create more danger?

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This story was updated on Feb 15, 2023 at 3:58 pm

With another university campus mass shooting earlier this week, legislative and public debate over the Campus Self-Defense Act has fostered heightened emotion from both sides. Will allowing the concealed carry of firearms on a West Virginia campus add more protection or create more danger?

The House Judiciary Committee held a Wednesday morning, one-hour public hearing on Senate Bill 10, commonly known as the campus carry bill. It would allow college students, faculty and staff to carry concealed weapons on all but a few restricted areas on college campuses. There were 37 people opposed to the bill and only two speaking in support of campus carry. Each speaker had one minute.

Chris White, a Marshall University history professor, and former Marine infantryman, said the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, must come with safety controls this bill does not offer.

“There are many, many months worth of training that military and police officers have to go through before they are able to earn that second amendment right and carry those weapons in public,” White said. “Every single moment in which a weapon is in the hands of a soldier or a police officer is controlled. None of those safety controls will be imposed on our students or anybody else who comes on to campus. Marshall University, WVU, the other universities, have expressed that they are opposed to this bill. I am not going to say that this is going to increase actual violence on campus. It might. But what I do know is they’re going to increase accidental discharges.”

Speaking in favor of the Campus Self-Defense Act, Art Thomm said he represented the National Rifle Association. He said Michigan college students killed earlier this week might be alive if campus carry was allowed.

“I live here, my college age sons live here, my wife and my young stepdaughter live here. Our loved ones deserve the right to defend themselves from a deadly attack in a gun free zone without having to make the choice of employment, education or their life,” Thomm said. “As already referenced, there was a shooting just this week where a lunatic went on a college campus in Michigan, a place where it was illegal under statute to carry a firearm and shot eight students killing three of them.”

After the public hearing, Democratic lawmakers from the Morgantown area joined West Virginia University students and staff in solidarity against campus carry. Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, boiled down much of the sentiment expressed in the public hearing.

“Their concerns include things like an increase in assaults and sexual assaults,” Hansen said. “How this would interact with mental health and suicide on campus, the possibility of accidental discharges, the drinking and drug use on campus and how bringing guns into that equation might cause more harm than good. People also mentioned issues with recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students.”

WVU faculty member Maria Perez said some students taught her to appreciate firearms used for hunting, but others expressed the fear of a high number of military veteran suicides by handgun having parallels to college students.

“His uncle was a lawful firearms owner, he had no mental illness antecedent, his dog had died and then he got into a fight with his wife and shortly after he shot himself and died,” Perez said. “It was a moment of crisis. This combined with the availability of a firearm creates conditions that result in the sudden and tragic end of a life.”

Lawmakers who support campus carry, like Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, said the proposal extends the constitutional Second Amendment rights to college campuses.

“You and I can carry a firearm, as is our right, in any portion of that facility that it’s not prohibited in. This just affords that same right and opportunity to the students and faculty,” Steele said. “You can have an 18-year-old person who hasn’t matriculated at school, legally carrying a firearm. You shouldn’t have to surrender your firearms rights just because you become employed at the university or college or become matriculated and become a student.”

Marshall University, West Virginia University, Concord University and West Virginia State University are among state universities that have voiced their opposition to campus carry.

The bill is expected to be considered in the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday afternoon for more debate.

Update

After more than two hours of emotional debate and testimony in the House Judiciary Committee, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act was sent to the house floor with the recommendation that it do pass.

WVU Faculty, Students Protest 'Campus Carry' Bill

About 100 West Virginia University faculty and students gathered outside of Woodburn Circle Thursday afternoon to voice their concerns about a so-called “campus carry” bill making its way through the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Under current law anyone in West Virignia over the age of 21 can apply for a concealed carry permit. Individuals between the age of 18-20 can apply for a provisional permit. Colleges and universities have the jurisdiction to decide whether to permit concealed firearms on campus.

House Bill 2519 would allow individuals, including students, who have a permit to conceal carry a gun to do so on campus with some exceptions. If passed, the bill stipulates concealed firearms would not be allowed in on campus daycares, dorm rooms and organized events in spaces with the capacity for more than 1,000 people.

Delegates earlier this week voted to bypass the bill’s second reference to the House Finance Committee and send it straight to the House floor, but changed course Thursday. Judiciary Chair John Shott, R-Mercer, moved to commit the bill to the Finance Committee. That motion was adopted on a voice vote. HB 2519 has a fiscal note attached that finds full implementation of the bill will cost upwards of $11 million.

Educators and students at WVU who attended the protest came adorned with signs saying things like, “Books not bullets on campus” and “Hey Dr. Gee, what color bow tie did the NRA give you,” a reference to WVU president Gordon Gee.

HB 2519 has support in both chambers of the Legislature and from groups like the National Rifle Association.

Safe Spaces?

Protesters hold signs near Martin Hall on WVU’s downtown campus on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, during a faculty and student demonstration over proposed campus concealed firearms carry legislation.

Speaking through a megaphone, WVU Geography Professor Amy Hessl told the crowd educators across the state must speak out against the measure to lawmakers in Charleston.

“It’s time for us to stand up for what we hold sacred and we hold the relationship between ourselves and our students sacred,” she said. “No reasonable person would allow teachers to carry guns in K-12 classrooms. Neither should any reasonable person consider having faculty and students carrying arms in classrooms.”

Cynthia Gorman, an associate professor of geography who teaches courses on international human rights and migration, said she worries not only about the safety of her colleagues and students, but also about the impacts guns may have to learning environments on college campuses.

“I deal with a lot of controversial topics in the courses that I teach and I can only imagine that it could stifle conversation, important conversations that need to happen if the professor and other students are fearful about other students in the classroom and how they might react to things they don’t agree with,” she said.

A 2016 report by Johns Hopkins University found allowing guns on campus does not lead to fewer mass shootings or casualties. It could, however, make other acts of aggression or suicide more likely.

The movement to allow concealed guns on college campuses has gained momentum nationwide. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as of August 2018, 16 states have banned carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus. In recent years, lawmakers across the country have introduced dozens of bills to allow concealed carry on campuses.

Former WVU student Jackson Wolfe was one of a handful of supporters of the bill at Thursday’s protest. He said the bill has enough provisions built in to ensure the safety of the campus community.

A group of counter-protesters stand next to a group of protesters near Martin Hall on WVU’s downtown campus on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, during a faculty and student demonstration over proposed campus concealed firearms carry legislation.

“It’s not like a bunch of yahoos out here carrying a bunch of AK-47s and stuff like that into classrooms,” he said. “So, I’d like to dispel the myth that it’s going to be like ‘O.K. Corral.’”

College Concerns

For its part, university officials say they would prefer not to have the Legislature dictating whether or not guns can be allowed on campus.

“There’s a lot of folks on our campus who are very passionate about the issue and so we’ve tried to engage in some dialogue with them and express to the Legislature on those sensitive issues that we retain our discretion on this issues to keep our campus safe,” said Rob Alsop, vice president for strategic initiatives at WVU.

The university has worked to add more protections to the current bill including lowering the size of venues where concealed firearms would not be allowed to 1,000 people and prohibiting them from dorm rooms. Under the bill, concealed weapons would be allowed in on-campus residence halls and classrooms.

Representatives from the state’s smaller institutions of higher education, including Concord University, Glenville State University and West Liberty University all oppose the legislation.

“This is my 18th year as a college president. I understand that campus safety is of primary importance and I have firsthand experience with a domestic incident at a prior college,” President Greiner of WLU said in a statment. “I’ve lived every president’s worst nightmare, and I never ever want to do that again.”

Greiner said a triple homicide at a college in Hazard, Kentucky five years ago still haunts him, and he worries violent domestic disturbances like that are only more likely given the proposed legislation. Parents, staff and many students are also opposed and he says enrollment would definitely drop if the law is passed.

A statement from Concord University said the school was opposed to the bill for many reasons including “increased likelihood of suicide, the delicate mental health of some young adults, the escalation of violent conflict, accidental discharge, and confusion in tactical situations.”

Glenville State University president Tracy Pallett pointed out that a significant concern for smaller schools is the inevitable costs associated with increased preventative safety measures such as metal detectors for sports events, lock boxes and safe rooms.

“I’d much rather use those monies to better the academic outcomes of our students,” he said.

In a statement, Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert strongly came out against the bill and guns on campus.

“The safety and security of our students, faculty and staff is of paramount importance to us and this legislation threatens the very foundation of that responsibility,” he stated.

Judge: No Guns in School-Used West Virginia City Rec Centers

A judge has ruled that a West Virginia law allowing guns in city recreational centers doesn’t apply to ones leased for school activities.

Judge James Stucky in Kanawha County Circuit Court ruled recently that guns are banned at those facilities even when school events aren’t happening, as long as a school board leases or otherwise possesses it.

The judge ruled that the 2014 law lets concealed carry permit holders bring guns to city rec centers not used by schools if they are stored in a holster, purse or bag, firmly adhered to the person’s body.

The judge said they could also be stored in locked lockers or gun cases, but cities aren’t required to provide those.

Charleston Mayor Danny Jones filed the lawsuit in 2014 seeking clarity about school-used facilities.