Boren: Guns On Campus Would Be A ‘Serious Mistake’
Oklahoma GOP lawmakers push for guns on campuses
By SEAN MURPHY – Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Allowing more students and faculty at colleges and universities to carry guns on campus would be a serious mistake and jeopardize the public’s safety, the University of Oklahoma president told members of a legislative committee on Wednesday.
David Boren was among more than a dozen university presidents who attended a joint hearing of the House committees on public safety and higher education and expressed opposition to the idea.
“Placing guns on campus, in my opinion, except in the hands of highly trained law enforcement officials and professionals, would be a serious mistake,” said Boren, a former U.S. senator and Oklahoma governor who has been president of the state’s largest university for 20 years. “To put our university students, faculty and staff at risk in this way makes absolutely no sense.”
A group of Republican legislators requested Wednesday’s interim study to explore the idea of allowing individuals with concealed carry permits to carry firearms on campus. Under current law, a licensed gun owner can only carry a gun onto a college campus with written permission from the school’s president. About a dozen such requests have been granted in the last five years, according to the State Regents for Higher Education.