Frank Torres
The Orange County League of Women Voters held a “Gun Safety Summit” Thursday morning that focused on defeating legislation that would allow concealed weapons on school campuses.
The event featured speakers who, from their perspectives of life on university campuses, listed the negatives of such legislation.
Students brought up possible scenarios such as roommates stumbling across the weapons and lost bags in public areas. Teachers said it would scare educational talent away from the state, and law enforcement officials cited the low standard of training for obtaining a concealed-weapons permit.
“This is about a safe learning environment for our students” said Jennifer Proffitt, a Florida State University professor and president of United Faculty of Florida. “Let me be clear. Guns on campus will not make faculty feel safe.”
Proffitt went on to outline the strategy of defeating the legislation: “If we make this about anti-gun groups against the NRA, Republicans won’t be able to help us because they’ll be backed into an ideological corner. These are people who support the Second Amendment and generally support the NRA, but don’t agree on this particular issue.”
There were no opinions in favor of the legislation present at the summit. In the past, supporters of concealed weapons on campus have said the current ban is a violation of their Second Amendment rights, and does not deter would-be shooters from future attacks.
