Sen. Jack Harper is reportedly crafting legislation that, if passed, would allow qualified faculty to carry firearms on university and community college campuses.


Sen. Harper, R-Surprise, a veteran legislator, says the legislation would make averyone safer except the criminals. Pointing to multiple instances where a student with a grudge has come into a classroom and started shooting, Harper added that the current legislation leaves students and teachers defensless against a gunman on campus.

Harper is also crafting legislation that would allow certain qualified students to carry firearms on campus. The legislation would limit the right-to-carry to students who have obtained a state-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon.


That permit, which requires a background check and specific training, is no longer required for individuals to have weapons beneath a jacket or in a purse, for example, but there are special privileges for those who do go through the permit process, such as being able to carry a firearm into a bar or a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are served.


Harper's bill on faculty, HB 2001 and the yet-to-be-filed legislation pertaining to students would add to that list. Harper, who was been a perrenial supporter of allowing more guns on college campuses, said current legislation has created “defense-free zones” in the past when gunman have attacked campuses.


The National Rifle Association is backing the bill.