Campus gun bill heads to full House

BOISE - Three North Idaho legislators voted Friday in favor of a bill which, if it becomes law, would overturn a no-carry gun policy on the North Idaho College campus.

That measure, Senate Bill 1254, cleared the House State Affairs Committee on an 11-3 party-line vote Friday after a six-hour hearing.

North Idaho lawmakers to vote in favor of the measure included Reps. Kathleen Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene; Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens; and Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton. Another House State Affairs member, Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, was absent.

Sims, who said she would take "reams of notes," taken Friday on the legislation to "a town hall meeting up north tomorrow," cast her vote in favor of the measure along with 10 GOP colleagues. The three committee Democrats opposed the successful motion to send SB1254 to the House floor.

"I know that changing this bill ... could change the resulting tactics," Sims said. "But we still have to know that it's the Idaho Constitution that trumps. Thank you all very much. I'll be supporting the bill."

The bill creates new campus-carry exceptions, allowing retired law enforcement officials or those with enhanced concealed weapons permits to carry firearms on campus.

The presidents of Idaho's eight public colleges and universities and the State Board of Education oppose SB1254.

While the legislation clearly allows for those with enhanced concealed weapons permits to carry firearms on Idaho campuses, it has become unclear whether SB1254 would open the door to the open carrying of guns on the campuses of Idaho's eight colleges and universities.

On the open-carry issue, Boise State University President Bob Kustra said the Idaho attorney general's office indicated in a recent meeting that SB1254 would open up the possibility of openly carrying guns on Idaho college and university campuses.

"To say that we already have the right to open carry on our campus is simply inaccurate," Kustra said.