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Campus divided over concealed weapons ban

Students and administrators at a Colorado university are at odds over a policy allowing students to legally carry concealed weapons on campus, officials say.

Colorado State University campus police and administrators want a ban on weapons, but students are against such restrictions, The Denver Post reported Wednesday.

State law allows those with permits to have a handgun on any part of the campus except residence halls.

Colleges in 23 states can decide their own policies and most decide to be “gun-free.” CSU decided in 2003 to follow state law, the newspaper said.

Student leaders say every shooting incident at American colleges happened on a campus with a weapons ban. “A ban on students legally carrying concealed weapons leaves students defenseless in these situations,” a resolution drafted by the student senate says.

“I think really it’s an issue of if it’s not broken, why fix it?” said Matt Strauch, spokesman for the Associated Students of CSU.

But many at CSU don’t buy that argument.

“If you have a classroom situation where somebody starts shooting and other people are shooting back, there is a real opportunity there for more bystanders to be injured,” physics professor Richard Eykholt said.

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