Broke some news this morning and scooped our local paper, the Missoulian. This is a preliminary story; the full story, along with all of my other stories, is available as a PDF upon request.

Legislature approves guns on university, college campuses

Posted: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 11:56 am | Updated: 12:25 pm, Wed Apr 24, 2013.

Posted on April 24, 2013

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  by Ketti Wilhelm

On the final day of the 2013 Montana Legislative session, both houses passed a bill allowing students, professors, staff and everyone else to carry guns on Montana’s public college and university campuses.

House Bill 240, sponsored by Rep. Cary Smith, R-Billings, passed the House of Representatives with a 61-39 vote and the Senate with a 28-22 vote Wednesday morning.

Under current law, the Board of Regents, which oversees all Montana University System schools, decides whether to allow guns on campuses. If HB 240 becomes law, BOR would no longer have that authority.

Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said banning weapons at colleges and universities violated the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“We think it’s time that campus administrators got drug kicking and screaming into the new century,” Marbut said.

“They can no longer get away with telling students and (others) they have to move to the back of the bus. They can no longer tell people willy-nilly that when you’re on our plantation, we can take your constitutional rights away.”

The bill includes some regulations to when and where guns can be carried. Weapons must be holstered if they are carried outside of a dorm room or other residence. Roommates must give permission for a gun-owner to keep a weapon in their dorm or apartment. Also, guns would not be allowed at campus events where alcohol is permitted.

Opponents of the bill are counting on Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock to veto it.

Sen. Dick Barrett, D-Missoula, said he voted against HB 240 for two reasons.

Barrett said the universities, just like any other property owner or private home owner, have the right to keep guns off their property. He also said more guns make a campus less safe.

“I don’t accept the argument that people would be safer if they could arm themselves and defend themselves,” Barrett said. “I think you have to balance that against the probability that if there are a lot of guns around, one of them will get misused.”

This isn’t the only bill this session aimed at deregulating guns in Montana, Barrett added.

Along with HB 240, another gun bill will soon be on Bullock’s desk. HB 205, sponsored by Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel, would allow hunters to use silencers and devices to reduce muzzle flash. The Legislature passed that bill and it will now be up to Bullock to veto it, sign it or let it become law without his signature.

It’s not clear which Bullock will do; so far this session the governor has vetoed one gun bill and signed another into law. Bullock’s office did not respond to questions about his plans for the bill in time for this story.

HB 446, sponsored by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer, R-Superior, classifies shooting a gun as an act that does not disturb the peace, and is no longer disorderly conduct. The bill  became law with Bullock’s signature.

Kerns introduced two other pro-gun bills this session.

One would have removed the need for a concealed weapons permit, but Bullock vetoed it.

Another bill sought to allow concealed carry of weapons in government buildings, banks and places that serve alcohol. That bill never passed the House.

If HB 240 passes the governor’s desk, it will go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.

Gun ControlLegislature voting on bill to allow concealed guns on campus

Students, administrators air concerns over HB240

— Kevin McRae, associate commissioner of higher education

“Our concern is that HB-240 says that all students and all members of the public should be allowed to carry guns on their hips or their coats anywhere on campus."

— McRae

“This includes in class or into football stadiums or into dormitories."

— Gary Taylor, UM Chief of Police

“When you’ve got multiple firearms and people waving them around, you don’t know who’s helping you and who’s against you."

Posted: Thursday, February 21, 2013 12:19 am | Updated: 8:54 am, Thu Feb 21, 2013.

Posted on February 21, 2013

• 
  by Ketti Wilhelm

A bill that would lift campus gun bans passed the House Judiciary Committee on Friday with a party-line vote.

House Bill 240, sponsored by Rep. Cary Smith, R-Billings, would remove the Board of Regents’ power to ban guns on campus. Anyone with a concealed weapons permit would be able to carry a concealed weapon on campus. Everyone else could openly carry a weapon.

Supporters said the bill would restore forsaken Second Amendment rights. Opponents worry more guns would lead to more gun violence.

“Our concern is that HB-240 says that all students and all members of the public should be allowed to carry guns on their hips or their coats anywhere on campus,” said Kevin McRae, associate commissioner of higher education.

“This includes in class or into football stadiums or into dormitories,” he added.

McRae expressed other concerns about armed students, including an increased risk of accidental shootings and suicides.

An accidental shooting occurred on the first day of class in fall 2011 at the University of Montana when a student shot his friend in the hand with a .20-gauge shotgun.

McRae described the incident as “an isolated circumstance that was in violation of current policy,” but he said he worries more accidents would happen if more students had guns on campus.

Shortly after the incident, Residence Life and the Office of Public Safety changed the procedure for storing guns on campus, although the change was unrelated to the shooting.

Prior to 2012, students could keep guns locked in storage facilities in the residence halls, but now guns have to be held at the Office of Public Safety and can be checked out for hunting or sport shooting. Students can also keep weapons in locked vehicles on campus as long as the guns are unloaded and out of sight.

Only campus police officers can carry weapons on campus. 

“We think (our policy) is a responsible balance,” said Peggy Kuhr, UM’s vice president for integrated communications.

“The University sees no need to change that policy, and the president is opposed to a change.”

University of Montana Chief of Police Gary Taylor said in the event of a shooting on campus, more students with guns would only create more confusion for police.

“When you’ve got multiple firearms and people waving them around, you don’t know who’s helping you and who’s against you,” Taylor said.

Mental health is another major concern.

Rep. Margie MacDonald, a Democrat from Billings and vice chair of the Judiciary Committee, voted against HB-240. She warned about the danger of increasing suicide rates in a state already leading the nation in that category.

MacDonald pointed out that mental illnesses often aren’t displayed until college when young people experience more independence and stress.

“You will have dozens, if not hundreds, of students who are dealing with serious mental health problems who are armed,” MacDonald said.

Since the start of fall semester, two students have committed suicide in student housing at UM.

Because the community grapples not only with suicide but also sexual assault, some women say guns would put their minds at ease.

“I feel safer with a gun,” said Emily Royer, a 26-year-old law student from Bozeman.

Royer said she doesn’t support allowing concealed weapons in banks or other restricted areas, but she feels differently about campus because some students call it home.  

“I do feel that people should be able to defend themselves where they live,” Royer said.

In Montana, the Board of Regents, the governing body of all Montana University System schools, decides whether weapons are allowed on campuses. No law allows or prohibits guns on campus.

Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said constitutional rights are the heart of HB-240.

“Although the Board of Regents is given full authority to manage the university system,” Marbut said, “they’re not given any power to take away people’s rights.”

UM political science professor James Lopach said the issue is not so clear-cut.

“The second amendment is not an absolute right,” Lopach said, adding that two recent U.S. Supreme Court cases allowed limitations on the right to bear arms in certain locations.

Lopach agreed that the Board of Regents’ decision to prevent students from carrying weapons on campus is, in fact, a limitation on the Second Amendment.

“But,” Lopach said, “the real question is, is it a constitutional limitation?”

Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Wisconsin and Mississippi mandate campuses to allow concealed weapons, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

However, 21 states prevent concealed weapons from being carried on campuses, including North Dakota, Wyoming and Texas.

The definition of a concealed weapon varies from state to state.

Marbut said Montana law defines a concealed weapon as one that is “wholly or partially covered by clothing or wearing apparel.” That means a gun in the glove box of a car or even a purse or backpack isn’t considered concealed and can be carried without any permit.

HB-240 is one bill in a slew of pro-gun legislation in the state Legislature this session. At least nine such bills have been introduced in the House. Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel has sponsored three of those bills.

Kerns’ HB-358 would allow concealed weapon permit holders to have weapons in banks, government buildings and anywhere alcohol is served — three places Montana allows only open-carry of weapons.

HB-304 would allow Montanans to decide whether they merit a concealed weapons permit. A person caught with a concealed weapon inside city limits, where permits are required, would not be in violation of the law as long as he or she would be eligible for a permit. It wouldn’t be necessary to actually obtain a permit in order to carry a concealed weapon.

Kerns’ HB-205 would also legalize the use of suppressors for hunting. Silencers are included in this category, along with devices that hide the flash of light from firing a gun. Opponents say this would make poaching easier.

Kerns’ three bills passed the House Judiciary Committee last week with party-line votes and move to the full House floor with HB-240. The House votes on HB-240 this week.