Concealed carry permit holders may now possess firearms on West Virginia public college and university campuses following implementation of the Campus Self-Defense Act. The act went into effect July 1. The bill began moving through the legislature in 2023, now joining 11 other states that have passed similar laws.
The new law allows institutions to implement exceptions, such as restricting the carrying of firearms in areas where mental health services are provided and locations where faculty or student disciplinary proceedings are taking place. Firearms will be prohibited at events with a capacity greater than 1,000 spectators and where alcohol is sold, such as sports stadiums and arenas. On-campus daycare facilities will also be a no-go for concealed carry.
While regulation is permitted in residential halls, permit holders will not be restricted in common spaces, from lounges and dining halls to study areas. Institutions will be required to provide secure storage locations for handguns in at least one residential hall on campus or, for a possible fee, make safes available in individual rooms.
West Virginia University, with over 25,000 students spread across multiple campuses, estimates a cost of $1 million to implement the law, with a newly formed campus safety group overseeing integration. Currently, the university is offering gun lockers to students living in residential halls at a cost of $140 per semester, and requests have started to roll in with school just starting.
As is to be expected, the law is not without criticism from all the usual suspects, including the presidents of West Virginia’s largest learning institutions. They urged lawmakers to allow individual schools to make their own decisions regarding whether or not to allow firearms on campus, voicing concerns about students with mental health challenges. The stance seems intentionally short-sighted, as a criminal who would take the lives of innocent people is highly unlikely to pay mind to the lesser crime of carrying weapons into a restricted area. It also begs the question as to whether campus leaders and opponents of the law would take legal and financial responsibility for the injury or death of a concealed carry permit holder who, stripped of their ability to carry on campus, was denied effective means of self-defense. It is fair to say we know that no such accountability should be expected.
Weeks after the Campus Self-Defense Act went into effect, there is really no news to report. The only change is the addition of stickers and signs designating restricted areas. Some of these areas include laboratories and private offices by request of particular staff.
“If it’s a restricted area, there’ll just be signage. It’s the responsibility of the person carrying the weapon to know where they can and cannot go,” said Marshall Police Chief Jim Terry.
The uneventful implementation of the new law should come as no surprise as law-abiding gun owners do not spontaneously morph into mass shooters the moment they are permitted to carry. While that statement stands alone, steeped in reason and logic, it is noteworthy to add that acquiring a permit means that individuals have cleared background checks and received training in order to practice the right.
The reality of concealed carry is that people practice it everywhere due to concerns for personal safety, regardless of laws restricting it. The truth is that you never know when a firearm is present in everyday life. You could be shopping at your favorite store, enjoying a stroll in the park or congregating at your place of worship. For all we know, there could have been countless concealed weapons, firearms or otherwise, on campus for years prior to the Campus Self-Defense Act.
“If a person’s going to carry, they’re going to carry,” Terry said. “I don’t see a big cultural shift here. I think it’ll go very smooth, and it’ll implement, and then next year, nobody will be talking about it.”
With campus violence being a hot-button issue, it comes as no surprise that liberty-minded individuals continue to pursue avenues to take personal responsibility for their safety. Laws themselves are meant to protect law-abiding citizens, not restrict them from protecting themselves, a principle that is at the foundation of the Campus Self-Defense Act, but has not yet permeated the minds of 2A abolitionists. At the end of the day, society always benefits when reason and logic prevail. Perhaps Police Chief Jim Terry said it best, “Education and communication is the key to anything, and that’s what we’re going to try to do to provide a safe environment.”
Let us know in the comments below what you think on the subject of concealed carry on campus.
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