Bill to allow concealed weapons on campus won't make Michigan colleges safer

Bullets may not be flying on college campuses in Michigan, but the rhetoric certainly is.

Depending on whom you listen to, legislation to allow concealed weapons on universities and community colleges would turn these ivy-covered institutions into the next O.K. Corral - or prevent them from becoming the next Virginia Tech.

Both scenarios strike us as overly emotional and speculative. When we read this bill, we don’t expect it would make campuses much more dangerous, or much safer, and we simply don’t see a need for it.

That conclusion isn’t based on our view of gun control - which isn’t the issue here. As long as they do so lawfully, people have a right to own guns and since 2002, Michigan has been a “shall issue’’ state, which makes it easier for people to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

That change caused consternation, too. There were fears that more people carrying guns would lead to vigilantism or shootouts, but that hasn’t materialized.

Still, the right to carry a concealed weapon doesn’t extend to college campuses, which can ban the practice - as the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw Community College all do.

House Bill 5474 would change that, stripping colleges of their ability to regulate concealed weapons more stringently than state law. The impetus for this legislation was an incident in which a man legally carrying a concealed pistol in his car as he drove through an unnamed college campus in Michigan was stopped by police, who told him he was breaking the law. Gun-rights proponents say it’s time to eliminate the “inconsistency’’ between state law and campus regulations.

Among other things, they argue that allowing students to carry weapons could avert another tragedy like Virginia Tech, where a gunman killed 32 people in 2007. But we aren’t persuaded. Such rampages are incredibly rare, and there are far better ways to keep students safe than to arm them and hope they can take out a gunman in a hail of bullets.

At the same time, opponents of the bill offer scary scenarios - of heated arguments or beer parties turning into shootouts - that also feel exaggerated.

This bill would not allow guns in dormitories or classroom buildings; the concealed weapons law already prohibits that, just as it prohibits them in churches, sports arenas or hospitals.

And based on feedback from community colleges, it’s been revised to keep concealed weapons out of any other campus buildings as well. So this bill actually would make state law more restrictive when it comes to concealed weapons on campus.

However, the clear goal of the legislation is to deny colleges the ability to set their own policies on concealed weapons, beyond what state law calls for. We think that would be a mistake.

A campus is not like a city, and shouldn’t be treated similarly. Parents who send a child off to college have a right to expect their son and daughter will learn in a safe setting. It’s up to colleges to provide that secure environment, and they should continue to have the latitude to set their own policies.

Nor do we understand why there’s any imperative to expand the right to carry a concealed weapon on campus when such a large portion of the population is under 21, and not old enough to legally have a concealed weapon permit anyway.

Whatever safety concerns there may be on campuses, this legislation isn’t the solution. Law enforcement officials at U-M, EMU and WCC all oppose it. Lawmakers should listen to the people whose job it is to keep students safe and reject this bill.