Published: March 31, 2008 11:22 am      

Rep. Murphey defends his campus gun bill

EDMOND — One bill in the Oklahoma Legislature might completely change the way Oklahomans define university campus security.

House Bill 2513, authored in part by Jason Murphey, R-Edmond, would allow 21-year-old and older students of any public university in Oklahoma to carry a concealed weapon, provided they have a valid Carry and Conceal Weapon permit.

“College campuses are unique because they are like huge communities,” Murphey said. “Anyone can enter and easily victimize someone, so students need to have this right to protect themselves.”

The bill states that students who are authorized to carry the weapons must obtain consent from the university president, but also states that it is not meant to allow colleges to prohibit students from carrying them. Murphey said that if the bill is passed and a university prohibits licensees from carrying guns into any certain place, university officials must then provide metal detectors or another security barrier to ensure students’ security without self-defense.

Murphey said he decided to author a Second Amendment bill after he was approached by a constituent about the issue shortly before a college shooting on an Illinois campus. He said after the shooting, he amended the bill to include campuses, and the judiciary committee was in favor of the latter bill.

Rep. Randy McDaniel, R-Edmond, said he supports the bill as well.

“This bill is within the scope of the Second Amendment, which affords the right to bear arms,” McDaniel said. “It increases the safety of students and allows them the right to defend themselves.”

The bill, however, is not without controversy.

“While I strongly support the rights of our citizens to keep and bear firearms under the Second Amendment to the Constitution, allowing guns on college campuses would endanger the safety of our students, faculty and staff,” said David Boren, University of Oklahoma President. “Every single day, I think about my responsibilities as president of a university for the safety of those on our campus.

“We have spent large sums of money to develop rapid communication systems and highly trained law enforcement personnel to take action in emergency situations; and to allow other people to have guns who have not trained with our police units would create chaos in a crisis situation.”

Those members of campus police forces echo Boren’s sentiments. The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators reacted to campus weapon initiatives in a statement on March 19.

“IACLEA’s Board of Directors believes ‘concealed carry’ initiatives do not make campuses safer,” President Raymond Thrower said. “There is no credible evidence to suggest that the presence of students carrying concealed weapons would reduce violence on college campuses.”

Thrower said among the concerns with concealed carry laws or policies are the potential for accidental discharge or misuse of firearms at on-campus or off-campus parties where large numbers of students are gathered or at student gatherings where alcohol or drugs are being consumed, as well as the potential for guns to be used as a means to settle disputes between or among students.

“There is also a real concern that campus police officers responding to a situation involving an active shooter may not be able to distinguish between the shooter and others with firearms,” Thrower said.

Murphey, however, said he does not believe the risk is any higher on a college campus than it would be anywhere else.

“About 60,000 Oklahomans today have licenses,” Murphey said. “If people are afraid of people carrying guns, I suggest they never go to a movie or any other public place because they will probably run into someone.”

Murphey said the process to obtain a license includes criminal, mental and background checks. There is also a six-hour course and a written exam. He also pointed out the character of the common shooter.

“The people with licenses are your good guys,” Murphey said. “No one has been able to point out one case where someone carrying a license caused danger.

“Not many campus shooters will go through the extensive process of obtaining a license.”

The bill passed the House with a ratio of 2:1 and will be heard in the Senate soon.



MONICA ALBERT is an upper-level journalism student at the University of Oklahoma.



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The Campus Life and Safety & Security Task Force will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the state Capitol to discuss HB 2513. The meeting is for representatives from higher education, including university presidents, students, faculty and parents, and representatives from law enforcement, veterans groups and the business community to express their concerns. A discussion among the task force members will follow.