UW-Green Bay Faculty Senate opposes campus carry
Members of the UW-Green Bay Faculty Senate voted unanimously at the group’s meeting on campus Wednesday, Oct. 28, to register opposition to a legislative proposal that would amend the state’s concealed-carry law to allow permitted civilians to bring guns and other deadly weapons into UW System campus buildings. The text of the resolution:
WHEREAS, the university is an institution devoted to the development and enlargement of students’ minds and abilities, to the free and open discussion of ideas, and to the creation and dissemination of knowledge; and
WHEREAS, the very presence of concealed weapons undermines the safe environment necessary for the exploration of controversial and challenging ideas; and
WHEREAS, the presence of concealed weapons on campus increases the possibility of accidents, homicides, and suicides, and interferes with campus safety plans; and
WHEREAS, the potential presence of concealed weapons threatens to cause fear and mistrust, interfering with everyday interactions among faculty, staff, and students; and
WHEREAS, the permitting of weapons into campus classrooms, offices, dining areas, residence halls, lounges, and other spaces would fundamentally change the nature of employment, enrollment, and residency at the university; and
WHEREAS, private businesses and institutions have the ability under state law to prohibit concealed weapons; and
WHEREAS, we stand in solidarity with other members of the public higher education community in Wisconsin, including the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Colleges, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin–River Falls, and the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point,
THEREFORE, the Faculty Senate of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay hereby declares our opposition to LRB-‐2653/1 or any such law that would require public colleges and universities in Wisconsin to allow the carrying of weapons in campus buildings by anyone other than authorized law enforcement officers.
The UW-Green Bay Faculty Senate also voted to endorse a similar resolution approved earlier by counterparts with the UW Colleges system. You can see the text of both resolutions.
