The Florida Legislature voted to allow Florida college professors and staff to carry concealed weapons on campus, a move supporters say will boost safety but critics fear will “increase the chance of unintentional shootings.”
The House passed the bill (HB 757) 88–20 on March 12, the day before the scheduled end of this year’s legislative session.
The legislation extends what’s called the “Guardian Program” to the state’s public colleges and universities to allow trained staff and faculty to carry loaded firearms on campuses, basically acting as armed guards. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a longtime 2nd Amendment supporter, is almost certain to sign it.
The Guardian Program is an already-existing Florida school safety initiative that was enacted after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Broward County, to provide an immediate response to threats.
It allows trained, armed school personnel or hired security guards to protect campuses. More than half of Florida school districts use the program, which is funded by the state and requires comprehensive training via local sheriff’s offices.
The bill’s passage comes nearly a year after a mass shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where a gunman killed two people and injured six others.
Alan Levine, the chair of the Board of Governors that oversee the State University System, has supported the bill. He recently introduced his own safety initiative by creating a special committee on Campus Safety and Student Success.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida college staff to soon carry guns on campus