No consensus emerges on ‘campus carry’ at CSN town hall

A town hall at the College of Southern Nevada yielded concerns Monday night from students, faculty and staff who fell on both sides of a debate over a controversial bill to allow concealed weapons on public school campuses.

Opinions ranged from a pilot-in-training who wondered why the state would trust him to fly a plane but not exercise caution with a firearm to a college freshman who said she didn’t want to worry about whether the classmate sitting next to her had a gun in a backpack.

Michele Fogg, a communications professor at CSN’s West Charleston campus, recalled taking a concealed weapon training courses after she encountered a threatening stranger at the Cheyenne campus four years ago.

However, Fogg never took the step to purchase a gun, she told the crowd at the town hall, which CSN hosted to discuss “campus carry” and other legislation that will impact colleges in Nevada.

“I’m not a Second Amendment thumper,” Fogg said, “but I want to be safe, and I’m not sure if I want a gun.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” she added.

No clear consensus emerged Monday night, but CSN President Michael Richards took a moment to counter Fogg’s concerns.

He noted that each campus has emergency phones in classrooms, emergency call boxes in parking lots and police officers to protect the college community.

“If there are other things that we can do, I’d like to know,” Richards said. “Because I think it’s imperative that the first priority of this administration and this institution is to create a safe campus, a safe learning environment.”

He cited that same mission in his opposition to Assembly Bill 148, the so-called “campus carry” measure making its way through the Nevada Legislature.

Currently, concealed weapons are prohibited on campus unless an individual obtains permission from the college president. Permission is rarely granted.

Concealed weapon permits can only be obtained by those 21 years or older, prompting one underage CSN student to wonder how AB 148 would protect her and high school students who attend the college.

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he won’t take a position until and if a bill lands on his desk.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures in information dated from February 2012, 23 states let universities make the call on carrying concealed weapons, 20 ban weapons and seven — including Utah, Colorado and Idaho — allow firearms to be carried with some limitations.

AB 148, which the Assembly passed in early April, currently awaits consideration in the Senate.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton.