Issue of guns on Missouri campuses may come up again

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri colleges may have to prepare for measures pushing for the concealed carry of guns on campus when the state Legislature convenes in 2017, despite opposition.

State law prohibits concealed firearms at institutions of higher education without consent from the governing body of that college. The only exception is for university law-enforcement officers.

At least four bills introduced in the House and Senate this year could have changed that, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

One of the bills was sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, which proposed allowing full-time employees and faculty to have firearms on campus but not students.

The measure was attached to a larger gun bill but was removed before the bill passed. The larger gun bill, which allows residents to carry a concealed gun without a permit, was vetoed by the governor and overridden by the Legislature.

"We shouldn't take someone's rights away because they stepped across the street and onto a college campus," Taylor said. "Overall, I think it's about personal responsibility and personal safety."

But Paul Wagner, director of the Council on Public Higher Education in Missouri, said all of the campuses "are in agreement that open carry of handguns is not a good idea."

The council represents all 13 of the state's public four-year universities.

State law gives state university boards the ability to decide whether they want to allow firearms on campus.

"Our focus is always on whatever is going to keep campuses safe," Wagner said. "So when the issue was raised, we talked to the people who set those policies on campus -- our professional safety and security employees." He said those people advised the higher education leaders to oppose the effort.