Lawmaker aims to allow guns on campus

The shocking shooting at Florida State University’s main library on Nov. 20 is still fresh on the minds of many at FSU – and throughout greater Tallahassee.

The violent few minutes shortly after midnight injured a Strozier Library employee and two students. Fourth-year biomedical engineering major Farhan “Ronny” Ahmed is permanently paralyzed from the waist down and currently undergoing extensive rehabilitation at a facility in Atlanta.

FSU and Tallahassee police, lauded for their swift action, were on the scene in minutes. They fatally shot gunman Myron May when he refused to drop his weapon.

To many, this nightmare scene at Strozier is Exhibit A for the argument against having guns on college campuses. But not everyone sees it that way. State Rep. W. Gregory Steube, a Republican from Sarasota, has filed legislation (HB 4005) that would make it legal for anyone with a concealed weapon permit to bring their firearm on a college campus.

Steube’s argument, fully supported by the influential National Rifle Association among others, goes like this: If students and others were armed (minimum age is 21 for a concealed weapon permit), Strozier shooter May might have been thwarted even sooner than he was.

Steube’s bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Room 404 of the House Office Building.

Its fate promises to be an interesting test for new Florida State University President John Thrasher, who was a power broker in the state Senate until he was named CEO at his alma mater in September. Thrasher, a Republican and a Second Amendment supporter, strongly opposes any effort to bring guns onto school grounds, be it FSU or an elementary school.

“I’m a Second Amendment person, I believe in the Second Amendment. I’ve supported gun rights. But just like in the First Amendment, there are exceptions,” Thrasher told the Tallahassee Democrat. “When it comes to guns on campus, the consequences far outweigh the positives.”

This is not a new position for Thrasher. He was instrumental in blocking a similar bill in 2011.

For Thrasher, the issue resonates deeply. Ashley Cowie, 20, an FSU student who was the victim in an accidental fatal shooting at a local fraternity four years ago, was the daughter of Thrasher’s longtime dentist. Cowie’s father lobbied against the effort to allow guns on campus, and Thrasher added his considerable support.

It didn’t matter to him that he would be bumping heads with one of the most powerful forces in Florida: Marion Hammer, a past president of the National Rifle Association and executive director of the lobbying organization Unified Sportsmen of Florida.

“Marion and I had conversations about it. Because there were other pieces of legislation she was interested in, she agreed to back off,” Thrasher said. “But she told me she didn’t think the NRA would ever totally back off from it and that it would come back again.”

And it has, with Hammer’s unbridled, full-throttle support. “Those who try to paint images of teeny boppers on campuses carrying guns are attempting to paint a false emotional image,” she said. “With this day and age with terrorism, the fewer gun-free zones we have, the better off we are.”

The FSU employee wounded by May, Nathan Scott, is a military veteran who is licensed to carry a gun in Florida. Hammer argues that if had been allowed to have his gun on him Nov. 20, the May tragedy could have come to a quicker conclusion.

Thrasher finds that argument mind-boggling. Responding officers were at Strozier in less than three minutes, according to FSU, and May was quickly prevented from causing further harm.

Law enforcement organizations have opposed similar legislation, and FSU Police Chief David Perry has said it would make his officers’ work considerably more challenging if they had to determine which armed students were “good guys” and which were “bad guys.”

Hammer has no stomach for that argument.

“That’s just a stock answer. If they can’t tell a good guy from a bad guy,” she said, “then there’s a problem.”

The legislation promises to create unusual partnerships. The student-government sanctioned club College Democrats at FSU strongly opposes Steube’s bill. Its members will be at Tuesday’s initial committee meeting for HB 4005, and they are scheduled to meet with Thrasher in the coming days to see how they can work together to prevent the legislation from moving forward. College Democrats at FSU is also conducting surveys on the FSU campus to get a better sense of how students regard the proposed legislation.

“We’re aware it has full support from the NRA and other conservative groups. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t pass,” Jacob Elpern, the club’s director of political affairs, said. “There are so many unknowns with guns on campus, especially with college students.”