WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A push to allow Purdue University students to carry concealed guns on campus has failed to win the support of the school's Student Senate.
State law allows Purdue's current policy of prohibiting any firearms on the West Lafayette campus without the permission of school officials.
A resolution sponsored by Student Senate member Zach Briggs supported allowing licensed students, faculty and staff members who've paid a $50 annual fee to carry concealed handguns except within campus housing.
He argued that the current policy hurts the ability of students to protect themselves and that the dozens of colleges around the country allowing guns haven't had any problems.
"The only people being hurt by this policy are Purdue students," Briggs said as the resolution was debated Wednesday night.
The Student Senate voted 15-7 against Briggs' resolution, the Journal & Courier reported. Any change in the weapons policy would need the approval of Purdue's Board of Trustees.
Purdue Police Chief John Cox said he worried that allowing guns on campus would increase the risk of violence.
"Just putting firearms in the mix with alcohol and young men and women can only lead to more of those random acts," Cox told WTHR-TV.
The Legislature this year changed state law to largely prohibit cities and counties from limiting gun possession, including bans in parks and libraries. The bill, however, didn't change laws banning guns from schools and university properties.
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