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From the Executive Director |
| As May draws to a close, we at The Campaign To Keep Guns Off Campus first want to acknowledge the nearly 4.5 million students graduating from higher education institutions across the country. A hearty congratulations to the graduates, their parents/guardians and also a well-deserved thank you to the educators, administrators and staff for your work, especially during this time of COVID.
This month, positive developments for safety in higher education are happening in Colorado, Montana and New Hampshire. The Colorado legislature is acting on legislation to return power to local governments and higher education institutions to regulate concealed handguns. The Montana Board of Regents heard the overwhelming opposition to guns on campus and the assault on their constitutional authority and decided to litigate HB 102 in the State Supreme Court. Finally, in New Hampshire, the State Senate voted on Thursday to send HB 307 back to committee, effectively killing it for this year. This bill would strip municipal officials and higher education leaders of any ability to regulate firearms. In our civic engagement work in Georgia, The Campaign began a voter registration project with Black Voters Matter to engage high school students in Valdosta. We also acknowledge our nation’s veterans on Memorial Day who gave their lives for our country – thank you. Finally, as you should know, The Campaign does not exist without your continued support. We cannot thank you enough for your past generosity. We are nearly halfway through 2021 – a year that has presented many challenging fights in several states. We remain very grateful for anything you can do. Continue to follow and share our actions, and please consider going the next mile with us by making a sustaining gift of support today. Thanks for all you do! Andy Pelosi, Executive Director |
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Updates From The States: |
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Montana – Great News!!! |
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Last Wednesday morning (May 19), the Montana Board of Regents (BOR) voted unanimously to move forward with litigation challenging HB 102 (guns on campus) on the grounds that it violates the board’s constitutional authority to operate the university system. The MT BOR received thousands of messages and public comment on the issue of whether to litigate HB 102 or move forward with a draft policy allowing guns on campus. Thanks to overwhelming public opposition, the Regents’ decided to file suit in the Montana State Supreme Court. That court ruled on Wednesday (May 26) to send the case to the district court where arguments will be heard. Send a thank you message to the BOR with one click here: |
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Colorado – Great News!!! |
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As noted above, the Colorado State Senate passed legislation that would allow colleges/universities, along with local governments to regulate firearms. At this writing, the bill is on the House floor with a vote imminent. This action in CO will represent a major policy shift if the bill passes the House and is signed by Governor Polis; concealed firearms can once again be regulated by local governments and prohibited on college campuses. Specific to higher education, this legislation is a long time in coming. You may recall that in 2012, The Colorado State Supreme Court ruled that The University of Colorado would have to allow concealed carry when the court declared the Board of Regents could not ban weapons from campuses. TAKE ACTION HERE – Tell your CO House member to Vote YES on SB21-256 |
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New Hampshire Victory!!! HB 307 – Great news on Thursday (May 27), as the New Hampshire State Senate decided by voice vote to send the bill back to the Judiciary Committee for further work. This action effectively delays the bill for at least several months – though it will be back. The Campaign continues to work with a broad coalition headed by GunSenseNH, which is fighting this legislation that would pre-empt schools, colleges/universities and all municipalities from enacting laws to either ban or restrict where guns can be carried. TAKE ACTION HERE – Tell Your NH State Senator that you oppose HB 307 |
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Texas A disturbing and dangerous trend in the states continues with Texas, as the Governor is poised to sign a bill that would allow permitless carry of concealed handguns. Texas will join at least 18 other states that will lower the bar for people wishing to carry concealed handguns. In addition, since Texas allows guns on campus, this new law will also apply to in state and out of state gun owners who attend public higher education institutions. |
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Georgia The Campaign’s staff has continued to work in collaboration with the local Black Voters Matter Chapter in rural Valdosta, GA to help register high school graduates as voters. Pictured below are our student volunteers Tyler and Christian who are helping make a difference in their community and to prepare these first time voters for this coming November. |
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Congratulations College and University Graduates |
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Honor the Graduates with a Gift to The Campaign |
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May is a month for college & university graduations and we at The Campaign salute the students, their professors and their parents who have worked so hard during this very challenging year. Do you have graduates, professors or parents/guardians in your life you want to acknowledge? Make a gift in their honor at The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus. For over 13 years, our staff has fought to keep institutions of learning as safe, gun-free places for academic study and thoughtful discourse. The fight is still ongoing and your gift today will help our cause. Thank you as always for all you do for The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus. |
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