Concealed weapons will be allowed on university campuses in Kansas starting in 2017 as required by a state law. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, more than 100 students, faculty and staff gathered yesterday at the University of Kansas to share their thoughts and concerns about the issue.
Miranda Ganter, a sophomore at KU and an RA, says she’s already scared sometimes when she has to confront men in the dorms who are drinking or otherwise breaking the rules.
“I don’t want to approach that resident if I know they have a gun. I don’t want to. How am I supposed to do my job if I don’t even want to talk to a resident?” Ganter says.
Faculty members asked if they could stop having closed-door meetings with students after the change or if they could ban students from carrying a gun in their classes.
Keith Strawder, an engineering major, says a gun ban won’t stop someone determined to bring a firearm on campus.
“Hard words on paper do not stop hard bullets. If you want to really make a change, you educate people on firearms safety and teach them how they are used properly,” Strawder says.
An exemption to state law currently allows KU to ban guns on campus, but that exemption will expire in 2017.
