Student government passed Senate Bill 1 Tuesday night, which called for the board of trustees to allow concealed carry and items such as pepper spray and batons on campus. The bill was vetoed Wednesday morning by student government president Jason Fugate.
President Fugate has vetoed SB No. 1. Read the statement below. #CapFam pic.twitter.com/fGuJSMVpFT
— Student Government CU (@SG_Capital) September 27, 2017
The bill, called No More Victims, was written after the sexual assault of a student in Blackmore Library. The representatives say they felt the need to create this bill after seeing several similar events on campus, which they feel shows vulnerability in students.
The three students heading the bill, Sam Waldvogel, Garrett Kehr and Haley Wehner, had a town hall meeting Wednesday night to speak with both supporters and critics of the bill. They outlined the bill’s goals and answered student questions.
https://twitter.com/christinahiller/status/913219068932628480
During the town hall meeting, the students explained that even if the bill was passed it would still need to be approved by the board of trustees before it could be implemented. Last year, when Ohio passed the bill allowing colleges to decide on concealed carry laws for their campuses, the university decided not to allow it.
“This is a university whose position is that bringing weapons into a learning community is not going to make it safer,” said Nichole Johnson, a spokeswoman for the university, to ABC 6.
Although the bill would allow concealed carry on campus, it also aims to legalize items such as pepper spray, tasers, batons, etc., which are currently banned on campus. If the bill doesn’t pass as is, the students say they would consider removing the gun portion of the bill, only asking the board of trustees to legalize self-defense items.
Extremely sad to hear @SG_Capital trying to make weapons more accessible to students. This is not how educated folks should deal w/ tragedy.
— tengo seth (@Sethheroni) September 27, 2017
The three students heading the bill said they would continue to fight for the bill to pass and hopefully overturn Fugate’s veto. According to the students, the main initiative of the bill is to spark conversation about the topic. They will be at the fountains collecting signatures from students who support the bill and answering students’ questions throughout the week.
Since the Ohio bill’s passage in December, Cedarville University has been the only college to allow concealed carry on its campus, and it is only applicable to faculty and staff.
