There is no indication that Minnesota would follow Texas' lead and permit college students to carry licensed guns on campuses. Lawmakers in Texas appear set to do so, arguing that students, properly trained in firearms, could deter mass shootings such as the Virginia Tech massacre. (The closest any Minnesota legislation comes this session is two House bills seeking a public vote on a pro-gun constitional amendment.)
But at a small level, it would be an issue for some Minnesotans. Data from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education show that 80 to 120 new high school graduates leave the state each year to attend college in Texas. Another 50 to 60 of these new graduates attend college in Utah, which already allows students with concealed carry permits to have firearms on public campuses. Nearly 300 attend colleges in Colorado, where the issue of guns on campus continues to be battled in court.
So here are the questions: Would you be more or less likely to send your teenager to a college where guns can be carried? Would it make you feel safer, or more worried, to know that students with proper permits are carrying firearms?
