The Virginia Senate essentially voted to defeat Senate Bill 1250 earlier this week, which would have prevented Virginia departments, agencies and other entities of the commonwealth from regulating firearms and ammunition without statutory approval.
The bill would have included public institutions of higher education as one of these entities. It was supported by legislators who want to grant universities the ability to permit students to carry firearms, regardless of state law.
The bill was passed by indefinitely, meaning it is dead for the rest of this session, which ends Feb. 26, unless a senator wishes to change his vote.
Currently the University is a gun-free zone and plans to remain so, except when prior approval has been granted on a case-by-case basis, University spokesperson Carol Wood said.
"I think we would all agree that weapons on a college campus do not make sense," Wood said. "Would you want somebody carrying a gun at a football or basketball game? Would you want somebody carrying a gun in the dining halls or at the University Hospital?"
Wood said these are important questions to consider because student safety is a primary concern.
Kurt Mueller, Eastern Regional Director of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said in the sprawling acres of college campuses, however, a lot can happen that college administrators cannot foresee or protect students against. Consequently, Mueller believes that students who legally hold concealed carry permits should be allowed to retain these rights on campuses.
"The police are a wonderful resource, but when seconds count, the police are minutes away," Mueller said. "They might even respond within 60 seconds, but in 60 seconds a lot can happen when someone with murderous intent has a firearm. And if someone else who legally has a firearm is present in those 60 seconds, they might be in a position to help."
Although the discussion about Senate Bill 1250 has been put on the back burner, the overarching debate about firearm regulation by public entities remains. Isaac Wood, communications director at the University's Center for Politics and a former Cavalier Daily opinion columnist, said the Democratic Party's majority of the Virginia Senate most likely played a large role in defeating the bill.
"The Virginia state Senate is currently controlled by the Democrats, and, in general, they've been more skeptical of legislation that would relax Virginia's gun laws," Wood said. "But certainly Republicans are holding out hope that they can take the majority in the Senate, which would allow them to reconsider and perhaps pass this and other similar conservative bills."
If another similar bill is eventually enacted, it will have to face a recent Virginia Supreme Court decision that ruled George Mason University's ban on firearms in buildings and events constitutional. Wood said the court's decision "underscores one of the primary goals of colleges and universities - the safety and well-being of its students, staff and faculty"
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