CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Today, the West Virginia State Senate passed Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act on a 29-4 vote. The bill would allow college students at West Virginia public institutions of higher education to carry a concealed firearm in designated areas on campus.
The bill would not allow students to open-carry on campus, even if they have a permit. The law would be limited to concealed carry only and all students must obtain a concealed carry permit in order to carry a firearm.
Senator Charles Trump (R-Morgan) explained the bill and its exceptions to carrying. He stated that there are multiple exceptions to ensure safety on campus.
Senator Trump also stressed that laws similar to the Campus Self-Defense Act are already in place in multiple states.
“With the enactment of this bill, West Virginia would join eleven other states which expressly permit concealed carry on state university or institution campuses,” Senator Trump said.
Those states are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
Current West Virginia law states that qualified persons 21 years of age or older can carry concealed deadly weapons without a license within West Virginia. With limited exceptions such as service in the armed forces, provisional licenses are required for all residents 18 to 21 years old who wish to carry a concealed handgun in West Virginia.
Senator Mike Caputo (D-Marion) spoke against the bill stating that he is worried about what the law might lead to. “I think it is a bad idea to basically encourage folks to carry weapons on campus, I just don’t know why we would want to put our youth in an atmosphere such as that,” Caputo said.
Under the bill, the institution has the right to designate buildings on campus as gun-free zones only if they have appropriate security measures in place such as metal detectors, security guards, and wands.
The bill also prohibits students from carrying and keeping firearms inside their dorm rooms. The law would require colleges and universities to provide a safe or some other type of locked storage for students to keep their firearms when they are in their dorm rooms or not carrying them.
The institutions may also charge a “reasonable” fee to students that carry on campus to cover the expenses that come with purchasing safes and other safe storage equipment.
The bill includes 12 total exceptions that prohibit carrying firearms such as any organized event on campus that has a seating capacity of more than 1,000 spectators, daycare facilities on campus, and restricted facilities where law enforcement is operating.
To read the bill in its entirety along with the rest of the exceptions, please click here.
