Florida Legislature OKs Conditional Campus Carry Law

The Florida Legislature approved a bill last week that will allow faculty and staff at the state’s colleges and universities to train as “guardians” and carry guns on campus. To become law, it just needs the approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose December budget proposal allocated $6 million to implement the program at Florida’s 12 universities and 28 colleges, The Orlando Sentinel reported. 

A similar program is already in place in Florida’s K–12 schools, enacted after a 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland left 17 people dead. The proposal to expand the program to higher education came after a shooting at Florida State University last year in which two people died. 

While supporters of the legislation said it would make campuses safer, opponents argued against that notion before lawmakers approved it. “There’s a lot of violence going on in America right now. People are on edge,” said Robin Goodman, an English professor and president of FSU’s faculty union chapter, according to the Sentinel. “I just think that having more guns is going to make us more at risk.”

The program is voluntary and will require guardians to complete 144 hours of training, including 132 hours of firearm training and 12 hours of conflict de-escalation tactics, undergo psychological evaluation, and submit to random drug tests. Additionally, the bill prohibits shooting a gun within 1,000 feet of a school during operating hours or events, and requires universities to adopt specified emergency response plans and promote an app for reporting suspicious activity. 

At least 14 other states, including Georgia, Texas and Wyoming, already allow firearms on public college campuses, though some are limited to people with a carry license.