Leaders decide to shelve gun bill

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March 31, 2008

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Mon Mar 31, 2008, 10:49 PM CDT

The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — After strong protests from college presidents and police officials, state Senate leaders decided Monday to shelve a bill to allow military veterans and others with firearms training to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.

Sen. Mike Johnson, R-Kingfisher, said he and Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, made a joint decision to leave the bill off Wednesday’s agenda of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the last meeting of the panel before Thursday’s deadline to hear House-passed measures.

Crutchfield and Johnson are co-chairmen of the budget panel, where the bill was assigned.

According to Crutchfield, he and Johnson “couldn’t agree” to hear the bill. “The bottom line is the bill will not be considered this session,” he said.

Sen. Randy Brogdon, Senate sponsor of the bill, was disappointed but not surprised. Brogdon, R-Owasso, said he was offended that college presidents said his bill would have qualified mass murderers for gun permits if they were military veterans.

“If they want to kill a bill, they can find another way to do it other than degrade our military personnel,” Brogdon said.

University presidents, faculty and students had loudly opposed the measure, which sponsors said would improve campus security. Educators said it would have the opposite effect.

Also left off the budget committee’s agenda was another House-passed measure, which would allow some 18 year olds to obtain a concealed carry permit.

Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, said so much heat was generated by the college gun bill that a decision was made to also ditch his proposal, which was introduced by Rep. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant.

The agenda of the appropriations committee was released after college presidents appeared before the Campus Life and Safety & Security Task Force and begged lawmakers not to consider the bill.

University of Oklahoma President David Boren said the bill would hurt recruiting of students and faculty. He said it would pose a dilemma for police trying to determine if a person wielding a weapon is a “deranged gunman or someone who thinks he is doing good vigilante work.”

Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis said mass murderers Timothy McVeigh and Charles Whitman would qualify to carry guns on campus under terms of the legislation.

McVeigh was executed for the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people in 1995. Whitman was the sniper responsible for 15 deaths at the University of Texas in 1966.

Under the bill, students who are in the military, honorably discharged or have a law enforcement certification would qualify for permits to carry concealed weapons on campus.

McVeigh and Whitman were military veterans.

So was Patrick Sherrill, who killed 14 of his co-workers at an Edmond Post office in the 1980s, said Mike Robinson, director of public safety at OSU.

It was the deadly rampage by Sherrill, a former Marine and a small arms instructor in the Air National Guard, that inspired the expression, “going postal.”

Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, introduced the campus gun bill. He said college officials used fear tactics against his bill, and he disputed their claim that it would have increased security problems.

Murphey and others argued that properly trained people with concealed handguns could avert deadly episodes like one last year that left 33 dead, counting the shooter, at Virginia Tech.

“If we can’t trust our veterans, who can we trust?” he asked.

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Leaders decide to shelve gun bill

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

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