Welcome to

Legislation allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry on a college campus cleared it’s second Senate Committee today after emotional testimony from a college student has been raped and professors who feel threatened. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, even with today’s vote, the legislation faces an uncertain future.

There were more speakers than time as the Senate Higher Education Committee took up allowing concealed carry on campus. FSU Professor Nancy Rogers told lawmakers:

“I have been threatened by a student who owned a lot of guns, but fortunately couldn’t bring them on to campus for a very tense meeting in my office.”

University of Miami Law professor Mary Ann Franks told the committee students will die.

“Guns are highly effective in committing crimes. They are rarely effective in preventing them” said Franks.

While Eckerd College psychology professor Marjorie Sanfilippo worried about increased suicides.

“By allowing more guns on college campuses, suicidal students will have more access to more lethal means of killing themselves” said Sanfilippo.

On the other side, dozens of students. Rebecca Hargrove spoke for Students for Concealed Carry.

“If you are afraid of law abiding citizens carrying on campus, then you have to be terrified knowing there are criminals on campus carrying right now” said Hargrove.

Rape victim Shayna Lopez-Rivas was adamandt in asking for better protection.

“Don’t make me go through a night like that again. I had pepper spray on me and I don’t need to learn twice how pepper spray does not work. You know, a bullet would have stopped that much more quickly than pepper spray would have.”

The legislation cleared the committee on a five to three vote.

Concealed carry has two more committee stops. The next one, the same committee that  refused to hear the bill last year.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portia r told us he doesn’t see where campus carry adds to safety..but then he added that he was still evaluating whether he’ll hear the bill this time around.