The controversy surrounding the right of adult students at Kansas universities to carry concealed weapons took a turn on Wednesday when the Kansas Board of Regents directed all six state universities to create a uniform policy that would forbid the carrying of guns on state campuses.

Gary Sherrer, one of nine regents, told Kansas Liberty he supported the board’s decision, despite the rapid growth of a student organization, Students for Concealed Carry, in the wake of the shooting spree by a gunman at Virginia Tech.

Students for Concealed Carry's state coordinator, Ryan Wilcott, said banning guns isn't always effective. Posting signs and making rules "might deter a law-abiding citizen," he told Kansas Liberty recently, "but it wouldn’t have done anything to protect the students who died at Virginia Tech.” 

Sherrer said if Students for Concealed Carry wanted to make a presentation to the board, he would support their request.

“I’m only speaking for myself, not the entire board, but I’m a big believer in allowing people the right to make their case, and if they want to make a presentation, I, for one, would support it,” Sherrer said.

Sherrer said he would be open to persuasion if the student group made an appearance. But he said, for various reasons, it was unlikely he would change his mind on the topic.

“I just don’t believe that a college campus is an appropriate place for concealed weapons; I don’t think it’s conducive to a learning environment,” he said.

He also questioned the need, pointing out that shootings at college campuses, the vast majority of which ban handguns, are extremely rare.

And Sherrer questioned whether allowing students who qualify for a concealed carry permit to pack heat on campuses would be an effective deterrent to a determined bad guy with lethal intent.

Under Kansas law, he pointed out, only persons 21 or older could apply for a concealed carry permit.  So, most students wouldn’t be allowed to carry in any event.

And, if qualified students were allowed to carry handguns on campus, Sherrer wondered: “How could you tell the good guys from the bad guys?”

Sherrer added, “So if there’s a report of a gunman in an auditorium and a handful of students with handguns rushed there, how would students or campus security know who the bad guy was?”

Sherrer also questioned whether the training necessary to obtain a concealed carry permit would adequately prepare a young adult to deal with a potentially life-or-death situation.

“I’m not convinced that a student with a concealed carry permit could be in the right place at the right time with the right skills if there was a crazed shooter on campus,” Sherrer said.

The board also directed all state universities to conduct background checks of newly hired employees by this September.

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