Legislation that would allow concealed weapons onto Allen County Community College grounds drew a spirited response at Thursday’s ACCC Board of Trustees meeting.
College President John Masterson pointed to the impetus behind the legislation under consideration in the Kansas House: the 1997 Virginia Tech shootings in which a lone gunmen killed 32 people and wounded 25 others.
Masterson said that Bill Otto, who represents Allen County in the House, supports the measure because of the Virginia Tech shootings. That argument carried little water with Masterson, who said his greater fear would be the potential for an accidental shooting rather than for a murderous rampage.
“I have much bigger concern that somebody would drop a concealed weapon from his jacket, that would shoot the guy next to him, than I would some madman,” Masterson said.
Trustee Larry Manes also pointed to a nightmarish scenario of having several armed students defending themselves against an attacker when police arrive. How would law enforcement officers know who was responsible for the shooting, and who was defending himself, he asked.
“I would be worried about the number of guns allowed in the college dorms,” added Jon Marshall, vice president for academic affairs.
If the legislation becomes law, the college could prohibit concealed weapons only if it installed “adequate security measures” to ensure that no weapons are carried onto college grounds illegally, Masterson said. In this case, the security measures would be metal detectors and security guards at every entrance at the Iola campus, including the dorms, the college farm and the ACCC outreach campus in Burlingame.
The Burlingame campus adds a twist to ACCC’s situation, Manes noted, because that building is owned by the Burlingame school district, where guns are prohibited by federal law.
Masterson encouraged others to contact Otto and others in the legislature to voice opposition to the measure, adding that gun control measures should be decided locally.
THE GUN CONTROL legislation is one of several bills that could affect ACCC, Masterson said. Others are:
— A Senate bill that would allow the state to offer tax credits for contributions to post-secondary institutions, like ACCC, to fund capital improvement projects.
— A House bill that would require school districts and community colleges to publish additional legal notices if its budget requires a property tax increase from the previous year. Masterson noted that ACCC already must publish such a notice, making the legislation redundant.
— A House bill that requires businesses and governmental agencies to participate in an E-verify program to ensure all employees are legal citizens.
— A House amendment that would institute penalties for schools if they fail to report child abuse. The legislation was offered as a result of the Penn State scandal, in which an assistant football coach is alleged to have sexually abused several children on school grounds for years, even after college administrators became aware of the alleged misdeeds.
— Legislation in both chambers that would create a tier of funding for technical education courses offered at community colleges.
