Certain employers may be allowed to carry handguns on the UTM campus if Senate Bill 242 passes.
SB242, as introduced, will allow certain employees at Tennessee institutions of higher education the right to possess and carry handguns on campuses. Senator Campfield introduced the bill on Jan. 31 and has continued to work throughout the month to see the bill through. The bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee pending review.
SB242 is essentially adding a new subsection to an already current law. This subsection would allow more people to be exempt from the current provisions of TCA 39-17-1309. The bill, as introduced, intends to allow “a person employed by a state institution of higher education as a faculty or staff member if: the person receives proper training; no campus police officer or public safety officer is stationed in the building which the person will be performing duties in; and the person is carrying the handgun at which he or she is employed.” This bill would essentially allow professors, secretaries and other faculty members at UTM to possess and carry handguns on campus.
SB242 will amend TCA 39-17-1309 that states, “It is an offense for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, with the intent to go armed, any firearm … in any public or private school building … used or operated by any board of education, school, college or university board of trustees, regents or directors for the administration of any public or private educational institution.”
Currently, only certain individuals are exempt from the inability to carry weapons on college campuses. These individuals being “members of the US Military meeting strict requirements; civil officers of the US; officers and soldiers of the militia; officers of the state, or any county, city or town; members of any team or club who are required to carry arms or weapons in the discharge of their official team duties; any private police employed by the administration or board of trustees of any public or private institution of higher education; Any registered security guard/officer who meets the requirements of title 62, chapter 35.”
The bill not only permits the carrying of handguns, it also allows any university to choose whether they will uphold the bill if enacted into law. According to SB 242 summary, a university that prohibits the carrying of handguns will be held “civilly liable for any damages, personal injury, or death resulting from a criminal act by any person not authorized to be in any building, campus, or grounds owned or used by such institutions of higher education in which the prohibition was in effect.”
SB 242 defines a state institution of higher education as “any postsecondary institution operated by the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee system or the board of regents of the state university, community college, or area technology center system that offers courses of instruction leading to a certificate or degree.”
As written, the act shall take place July 1, 2013 and will apply to the 2013-2014 school year and each following.
