As Florida’s Guardian Bill (HB 757) moves closer to being passed in the House of Representatives, Florida Atlantic University students are voicing concerns about what this legislation could mean for their safety on campus.
If the House passes the bill, it would authorize public colleges and universities in Florida to allow faculty and employees to carry armed weapons on campus to serve as armed guards in the event of an active shooter.
Supporters of the bill argue that having these “guardians” on campus would improve campus security; however, many FAU students expressed concern about whether having armed faculty and staff would make them feel safer or put them in more danger.
“I don’t know if it’s necessary for colleges and universities, other than there was an extremely horrible shooting up here at FSU last session, so I think it’s a reaction to that,” said State Rep. Michael Gottlieb, D-Broward.
If the bill passes, the president of each public university and college would be responsible for designating which faculty and employees will be trained and issued licenses to carry concealed weapons on campus.
“The university does not comment on pending legislation as it would be too speculative to do so,” FAU Media Relations wrote to the University Press.
The chosen “guardians” will undergo training and must pass the firearms training with a score of 85% or higher before being authorized to carry a weapon on campus.
The bill mandates 144 total hours of training under the supervision of a county sheriff’s office, including 12 hours focused on responding to and de-escalating campus incidents and 132 hours of firearm safety and proficiency training.
“Guardians” must also pass a psychological evaluation, submit to and pass an initial drug test, and undergo random drug tests throughout their service.
Although there are many requirements before faculty and employees are allowed to become “guardians”, many students were unaware of the proposal and had concerns about armed faculty on campus.
“If kids can find parents’ guns at home, what’s stopping a kid from finding a teacher’s gun here?” said Sophomore Baylee Wesson.
Gottlieb acknowledged that there’s significant concern about the bill’s complexity.
“…We should do something to prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again. Will this prevent it? You know, probably not, but is it a step possibly in the right direction? I don’t know, it’s hard to say,” said Gottlieb.
Gottlieb also introduced an amendment that the Judiciary Committee passed, stating that students are prohibited from being designated as “guardians” on campus.
“As we got more information, now there are concerns from different groups about: is this the best option? There are also very good things in the bill to ensure that our students are safe on campus, so it’s really hard … There is still criteria that needs to be answered,” said State Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Broward.
Gottlieb said he spoke to one of the parents from the 2018 Parkland Shooting, and they told him they were working with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Michelle Salzman. The parents agreed with many aspects of the bill.
Students’ opinions on the bill varied, but they all shared one common concern: safety.
“If I trusted that they [guardians] were well-trained and didn’t have any mental impairments, I would be okay. I do feel kind of uneasy like walking to a classroom knowing that someone has a weapon on them, but there are a lot of people that probably have concealed carrys,” said first-semester graduate student Heidi Burden.
Sophomore Ben Lehtola said the campus should rely on the law enforcement already present on campus. “Giving teachers guns does not increase safety on campus. We have FAUPD for a reason. I believe they are adequate enough to stop any potential threat on campus.”
Senior and President of the FAU College Democrats, Nicholas Ostheimer, expressed support for the bill, only if there was sufficient training and the “guardians” were responsible enough to handle the weapons.
“If all these checks are in place to ensure that only training and psychologically examined faculty are able to bear arms, if the University permits it, this is when gun ownership is then protected by the Second Amendment … The biggest issue is making sure that the people who can safely and responsibly handle them are the only ones who get access. If the Guardian Bill takes that precaution, then I’m open-minded to it,” said Ostheimer.
Freshman Bella Parks said that it’s safest to leave guns out of education entirely. “I feel like I understand where they’re coming from with why they would want to pass this bill, but I feel like just preventing any kind of gun on campus in general, I feel, would be the safest…I just don’t think in general guns should be on campus.”
As of Feb. 12, the Guardian Bill remains pending on the House and Second Reading calendars.
Molly O’Flynn is the Copy Desk Chief for the University Press. Email her at [email protected] or contact her on Instagram @molly_oflynn_ for information regarding this or other stories.
