This professors union is pushing a bill to restrict firearms rights on Wisconsin campuses
The bill would hold colleges and universities to the same restrictions that K-12 schools in the state are currently bound.
Lobbying efforts by a professors union have resulted in newly proposed legislation introduced by Democrats in the Wisconsin State Senate that would make it illegal to carry a firearm on a public or private college university campus.
UW-Madison professor and union steering committee member Terry Warfield told The Daily Cardinal that the bill was brought forward at the behest of PROFS, a UW-Madison professors union.
“When there was an opportunity to address this kind of difference in the carry concealed provision in campus grounds and buildings compared to K-12 , we thought, ‘why wouldn’t we get behind that?’” Warfield said.
[RELATED: Concealed carry will soon be allowed on campuses in this state]
“Our proposal would just say let’s make college campuses the same as K-12 schools,” said Rep. Deb Andraca, who introduced the bill.
Warfield and PROFS lobbyist Jack O’Meara told the outlet the organization was influenced by recent mass shootings, especially those at university campuses.
“We hope we can take the right lessons away from these unfortunate events,” Warfield said.”
The bill would hold colleges and universities to the same restrictions that K-12 schools in the state are currently bound, meaning that an individual carrying a gun on campus could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor.
In 2011, previous law prohibiting weapons on college campuses was superseded by Act 35, which legalized concealed carry of weapons in the state as a whole. Right now, concealed carry restrictions are limited to K-12 schools and buildings with posted signs forbidding guns.