NorthwestMarch 7, 2014

Bill now rests in hands of Idaho's Gov. Otter

BOISE - The guns on campus bill cleared its final legislative hurdle Thursday, passing the House on a 50-19 vote after an hourlong debate.

Six Republicans joined the entire Democratic caucus in opposing the measure, which now goes to the governor for his signature.

The legislation exempts retired law enforcement officers and people with an enhanced carry permit from regulations prohibiting firearms on college and university campuses, repealing some of the authority higher education officials previously had.

The State Board of Education and all public college and university presidents in Idaho opposed the bill, as did various faculty and student groups and police chiefs. Most of the debate Thursday was against the measure as well.

Those who spoke in favor, however, said there's no justification for depriving law-abiding citizens of their constitutional right to carry firearms and protect themselves.

"I hope we aren't looking at this and saying every person who carries a gun is a bad person, or that everyone who carries on a college campus is going to do something bad, because that's not true," said Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, who owns a business that sells firearms. "This is about having the right to be prepared, whether I'm on the road, on a college campus or in the Capitol building. It's my right to be able to defend myself regardless of where I happen to be."

Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, said people often go to work or go shopping before or after they attend classes. Consequently, campus firearm prohibitions effectively restrict their constitutional rights all day.

"I don't think the Constitution says we only have the right to bear arms on the weekend, but that's effectively what we're doing," he said. "We aren't just preventing them from carrying for a short period of time or an isolated location. It's an all-day thing."

House Minority Leader John Rusche of Lewiston noted that 80 percent of the firearm deaths in Idaho are self-inflicted.

"The highest percentage of suicide attempts are adolescent and young adult males," he said. "It's a deadly combination we're setting ourselves up for."

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Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, also debated against the bill, speaking of a former capable student of hers who subsequently developed a mental disorder and ended up shooting his girlfriend, her child and himself.

"In recent years in Moscow, I know of five situations where there have been shootings and someone was killed," she said. "Four of those situations stemmed from mental illness; the other involved too much drinking. That's a reason to consider, with the sometimes-lacking judgment and mental pressures students are under, whether a college campus is the best place to have guns."

Perry said the bill raises a fundamental policy question - but it isn't whether guns should be allowed on college campuses.

"The policy issue is, where should the authority reside regarding the Second Amendment or any other constitutional right?" she said. "Should it reside in the hands of a government agency, in the hands of the universities or boards of trustees? Or should it reside here, with the Legislature?"

Colleges and universities didn't have statutory authority to regulate firearms until 2008, she said. This bill repeals a portion of that authority.

"What we're doing by voting on this bill is recapturing that authority and putting it back with the Legislature," Perry said. "That's really what this fight is about."

Of the north central Idaho legislators, Rusche and Ringo voted against the bill. Republican Reps. Thyra Stevenson of Lewiston, Paul Shepherd of Riggins and Shannon McMillan of Wallace were in support.

Rep. Cindy Agidius, R-Moscow, was absent all day attending a funeral. When contacted by phone, she said she thought the bill wasn't coming up until next week.

Asked how she would have voted, she said, "I really hadn't decided. I spent a lot of time talking to people about my concerns. On any given day I could have made an argument on either side. I can't say - it would have been a tough decision."

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Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.

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