FEATURED
Bill would end ‘gun-free’ zones at public colleges and universities throughout the state
Samuel Farrington is a college student and New Hampshire state representative who believes that public universities should allow students to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Farrington, a Republican and a senior at the University of New Hampshire, recently introduced a “campus carry” bill in the state House to require just that. The bill would prohibit public colleges and universities from “regulating the possession or carrying of firearms and non-lethal weapons on campus.”
He told The College Fix he wrote the bill because he felt unfairly prohibited from exercising his rights. He believes that students have the right to use guns in self-defense and higher education institutions are “overstepping and putting students at risk” by enforcing gun-free zones.
In an email interview last week, Farrington said he is concerned about his fellow students being cornered into an unprovoked attack by an assailant, or caught in the crossfire of a school shooting.
When school violence occurs in a gun-free zone, Farrington said the student is defenseless in a position where the criminal has quick and easy access to them.
“Gun-free zones create soft targets. There is a reason why 97% of mass shootings happen in so-called gun-free zones. The bad guy knows that victims won’t be able to put up a fight. This bill will help deter mass shootings,” Farrington said.
He also told The Fix that the recent shooting at Brown University is a tragic example of how “gun-free zone rules leave victims as defenseless while doing nothing to prevent the bad guy.”
Meanwhile, William Sack with the Second Amendment Foundation agreed that gun-free zones are meaningless in an emergency.
“It removes the agency and capacity of the rest of the law-abiding peaceable people present to defend themselves and others,” he told The College Fix in a recent email. In addition, Sack considered the gun-free zone status of a college campus a “hollow assurance” that a shooter would follow the law.
Both Sack and Farrington emphasized that college students who are legal adults can be trusted to use guns in self-defense and to properly handle them.
When asked if the bill could puts students in more danger, as some argue, Farrington replied: “I have yet to hear a compelling argument against this legislation. Both the New Hampshire and the US Constitution protect the right of an individual to carry a firearm for self-defense.
“The arguments against this bill rely on the misconception that college students can’t be trusted because they are always drunk. Why do we allow them to vote? Or fight in foreign wars? The fact of the matter is that those who decide to carry a firearm are responsible citizens,” he said.
Sack also supported this, stating: “All adults have the same Second Amendment rights, regardless of their age. Governments have no authority to unilaterally ration out fundamental rights as they see fit.”
The bill has the support of a number of students and faculty on Farrington’s own campus, University of New Hampshire, he told The Fix. He said he has received 350 student signatures on a petition in favor of the bill.
“Professors that I have spoken with tend to be generally supportive as well. They understand that campus buildings are left wide open to the public, so security measures can be concerning,” Farrington said. “It does not mandate guns on campus, it only protects the right of individuals to carry if they decide to make that decision.”
During a committee hearing on Jan. 16, two students testified against the bill, while nine students spoke in favor of it. UNH Police Chief Steve Lee also testified against the bill.
As New Hampshire Public Radio reports, Lee told lawmakers that he believes allowing students to carry guns on campus “would detract from overall safety — not just by making fights or altercations more dangerous, but by causing confusion during a campus-wide safety threat. If police are getting reports of other people with guns — even if they have the best of intentions — they’d be spread thin.”
“It’s imperative that we are able to control that space very quickly and not have our resources divided unnecessarily,” Lee said.
The campus police chief also brought up concerns about students’ mental health and a potential increase in gun-related suicides on campus, according to NHPR.
A fiscal note attached to the bill described the University of New Hampshire’s position that insurance and employee compensation claims will increase, the university will receive a higher risk profile that may cause insurance costs to go up, and it potentially may have more victims of school violence as a result.
The College Fix emailed University of New Hampshire media relations office via email this week to ask about Farrington’s bill, but did not receive a response.
After hearing testimonies, the House committee voted 7-6 to advance the bill.
Presently, every institution of higher learning in New Hampshire, including UNH, is allowed by state law to make its own choice whether or not to permit students to carry firearms on campus.
Per Campus Safety Magazine, there are 21 states that currently let colleges and universities make their own choice to allow concealed carry on campus, New Hampshire being one. Eleven states have campus carry laws, and 18 states strictly forbid campus carry.
The Fix also asked Moms Demand Action, which supports gun control, and the UNH College Democrats and College Republicans for comments about the bill, but none responded.
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