A bill to allow students to carry guns at Wisconsin’s technical colleges and UW-System schools is being circulated at the capitol. Right now, those institutions are allowed to ban weapons inside campus buildings. The Republican sponsors of the bill say allowing students to carry guns would be a deterrent to crime. The UW-Madison Police Department could not disagree more. Spokesman Marc Lovicott says allowing guns at the Kohl Center or Camp Randall Stadium would be a security nightmare. Lovicott points out that according to FBI statistics, you are less likely to become a victim of a violent crime at UW-Madison than you are in the state of Wisconsin as a whole. And he says allowing students to carry guns would put the safety of other students, faculty, staff, and guests at risk. Lovicott says the existing state law appropriately balances individual rights with community safety. Plus, he says, the typical student is still very much in a developmental stage. “Our students sometimes make poor decisions. We deal with that when we’re talking about issues like underage drinking and students who drink themselves unconscious. And now the idea of wanting to put guns in their hands just doesn’t make sense to us,” Lovicott said. According to Lovicott, the idea of allowing weapons in a stadium or a classroom creates a major security issue. He says the training required to obtain a concealed carry permit in Wisconsin is minimal, and stresses that sworn police officers go through constant training for gun safety.
