Bill for Guns on U of A Campus Shot Down, Has 1 More Chance to Pass
By: KNWA News
Updated: January 29, 2013
A piece of student legislation is causing a lot of controversy on the University of Arkansas campus.
It's called the University of Arkansas Self-Defense Bill, which would allow students, faculty, staff and guests with a valid concealed handgun license the right to legally carry their weapons for self-defense.
Monday night the measure was presented in front of the Residents Interhall Congress, where plenty of students were in attendance to voice their concern and support of the policy.
"The students on this campus realize that these bans don't make them any safer, they just provide a feeling of safety right up until a criminal brings a gun on campus and starts using it," says Joseph Youngblood, who wrote the University of Arkansas Self-Defense Bill.
"A university has such a high rate of alcohol abuse, of mental health problems, of poor accountability amongst its population. Mixing guns in there culminates in a very dangerous environment," says Ezra Smith, Co-Founder of the group Razorbacks Against Concealed Carry.
The RIC voted down the measure in an 11-19 vote, but the bill will still go to the student government, who will vote on the legislation in two weeks.
If it passes, it would encourage administration to reconsider university policy banning guns on property.
It's called the University of Arkansas Self-Defense Bill, which would allow students, faculty, staff and guests with a valid concealed handgun license the right to legally carry their weapons for self-defense.
Monday night the measure was presented in front of the Residents Interhall Congress, where plenty of students were in attendance to voice their concern and support of the policy.
"The students on this campus realize that these bans don't make them any safer, they just provide a feeling of safety right up until a criminal brings a gun on campus and starts using it," says Joseph Youngblood, who wrote the University of Arkansas Self-Defense Bill.
"A university has such a high rate of alcohol abuse, of mental health problems, of poor accountability amongst its population. Mixing guns in there culminates in a very dangerous environment," says Ezra Smith, Co-Founder of the group Razorbacks Against Concealed Carry.
The RIC voted down the measure in an 11-19 vote, but the bill will still go to the student government, who will vote on the legislation in two weeks.
If it passes, it would encourage administration to reconsider university policy banning guns on property.
