A university in Topeka, Kansas became the latest school to announce policies for concealed guns on campus April 13.
Washburn University’s board of regents unanimously approved the campus carry policy, which will take effect July 1, reports kwch.com.
Under the policy, residents of campus housing must safely secure guns on their person, in their dorm or in the trunk of their car. The guns also cannot be visible.
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Students who use or carry guns improperly will be subject to criminal charges.
Campus Safety has previously reported on similar policies approved by the Kansas Board of Regents last year.
The policies come after a law was passed in 2013 allowing people over the age of 21 with concealed carry permits to bring guns into public areas. An exemption in that law for public college campuses is set to expire July 1.
In response, colleges must allow licensed individuals to bring guns onto campus. If schools wish to ban guns from certain buildings, they must put in place adequate security measures like metal detectors or security officers at building entrances.
Such measures could be too costly for many schools. Wahsburn’s legal counsel Marc Fried said in October that installing a metal detector and employing two staff members at one building entrance would cost $100,000 annually.
The Washburn regents delayed announcing a new gun policy as multiple bills proposing to amend the concealed carry law made their way through the Kansas legislature. All of those efforts failed.
Washburn President Jerry Farley has spoken out against the policy.
A 2015 survey by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs showed students were largely split on the issue, with 53 percent reporting they don’t want concealed weapons allowed on campus.
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