Republicans push campus carry laws in nearly a dozen states as college shootings reignite debate
Republican lawmakers have renewed a push in 2026 to allow guns on college campuses amid a recent rash of school shootings across the country.
A convicted felon linked to ISIS opened fire last week inside a classroom at Old Dominion University in Virginia, killing one teacher and wounding two others before he was brought down by fellow ROTC cadets.
In December, a gunman opened fire inside an engineering building at Brown University in Rhode Island, killing two students and injuring nine others during final exams. The suspect fled and later killed an MIT professor at his home in the Boston suburbs.
While it is unclear if a gun-toting citizen would have been able to subdue the shooters before anyone was injured in the recent incidents, supporters argue armed students or faculty could stop attacks more quickly.
On the other hand, critics of campus carry claim more guns on campus increase the risk of violence and accidents.
Lawmakers will debate bills related to loosening gun regulations at colleges in at least eight states this year, including Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
In Florida, a proposed state Senate bill would allow students, faculty and staff to carry guns on public college campuses. A similar state House bill, which is pending the governor's approval, authorizes trained faculty and staff to carry on campus.
Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Fla., who was taking classes at Florida State University in 2025 when a gunman killed multiple people on campus, said students felt helpless during the attack.
"You could tell from a lot of the back and forth that they felt very helpless, and they wanted something. They wanted to help," Salzman told WFSU Public Media. "They wanted to be able to save their friends, and they didn't want to see this happening."
Lawmakers in Louisiana introduced a broad campus carry bill that would allow any legal adult to carry guns on college campuses, removing higher education institutions from the list of gun-free zones.
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State Republican Rep. Danny McCormick, one of the bill's authors, claimed the legislation would align campus laws with Louisiana's existing carry law.
More than a dozen states already allow some form of on-campus carry, including Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
However, the regulations vary from state to state.
Prior to West Virginia's January 2023 decision to allow people with concealed carry permits to bring guns on college campuses, the presidents of West Virginia State University, Concord University and Shepherd University said they had "serious reservations" about what they said were "significant public safety challenges and financial burdens" the bill would present.
"Introducing firearms into this already challenging environment could have unintended consequences," the presidents said.
They also claimed access to guns would increase suicide risks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.