For nearly two months (since January 18th), Representative John Barker – the chair of the Kansas House’s Federal and State Affairs Committee – has refused to bring House Bill 2074 to the full Kansas House so that the entire chamber can vote on it. The bill extends universities’ and hospital’s exemption for campus carry, and it’s a popular bill: the public testimony in favor has consistently far exceeded the testimony against it. Instead, tomorrow, the committee will consider HB 2074’s nemesis, HB 2220. It prohibits any regulation of guns on college campuses, and any current regulations are rendered “null and void.” And no, I’m not joking. Read the bill.
I cannot be there to testify at 9:00 AM Thursday March 9th in Room 346-S. So, I have sent my testimony in advance. It’s my third such testimony this semester. Though I wrote it in haste, I make no apologies for its content. HB 2220 is a fascist bill. And the committee’s failure to bring HB 2074 up for a vote prompts me to question Representative Barker’s commitment to the democratic process. Let the House vote!
HB 2220 is not only a bad bill. It is a fascist bill. Faculty, students, and staff of Kansas Universities are overwhelmingly against campus carry. And so, has the House Committee on State and Federal Affairs advanced HB 2074 – which would continue the exemption for universities and hospitals – so that the full House may vote on it? No. Instead, it is now considering HB 2220, which forces guns onto Kansas university campuses against the will of those who study and work there.
My question for the committee is this: Do you believe in democracy or don’t you? Why not let the House vote on HB 2074? Why advance this dangerous bill (HB 2220) instead? There is no evidence that weaponizing campuses makes them safer. In fact, quite the opposite is true – as many have told you before. In a state where guns are not regulated (where owners of firearms do not even need to learn how to use their weapons), inviting them onto college campuses is reckless in the extreme. You increase the risk of death by accident, and by intent – the likelihood of a successful suicide increases when firearms are accessible. And you do not prevent mass shootings. The “good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun” is an alternative fact promoted by the NRA. Think about it: in an active shooter situation, an untrained but armed person will magically be transformed into a superhero? Really? (Hint: NO, guns do not turn untrained civilians into superheroes.) If the military does not allow guns in its classes (except for weapons-training classes) or in its barracks, why should colleges? The military are trained professionals. Faculty, students, and staff on college campuses are not – by design, since Kansas refuses to adopt even the modest provision that gun-owners learn how to use their guns.
Though I offer these thoughts as a private citizen, my opinions are informed by my job as professor at Kansas State University. I have enjoyed my decade-and-a-half living and working in Kansas. However, now that the legislature insists on endangering my life, and the lives of my colleagues and students, I find that I enjoy it much less. Indeed, in addition to seeking another job, I find that I have to spend valuable time trying to convince my state legislature not to kill us all. So. Oppose HB 2220. Bring HB 2074 up for a full vote.
Thank you for your time and for your attention to this urgent matter.
Philip Nel
Manhattan, KS
Kansans, please contact every member of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, but especially Representative John Barker
- Office phone: 785 296-7674
- Office email: john.barker@house.ks.gov
Tell him and them to exempt university campuses and hospitals from firearms. Advance HB 2074 to the floor of the House for a vote. Oppose HB 2220.
Related writing on this subject (by me, and on this blog unless otherwise indicated):
- “Just a Shot Away,” Inside Higher Ed., 12 Apr. 2016.
- “Killing Higher Education, Literally: Kansas’ Campus Carry,” 1 Feb. 2017. My most recent testimony. I was not able to deliver this in person.
- “Testify! Keeping Kansas Universities Gun-Free,” 26 Jan. 2017. My statement, delivered in person to the Kansas Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee at the state house.
- “Guest Editorial: Putting guns on campus is unsafe, disruptive to learning.” K-State Collegian, 21 Sept. 2016.
- “Armed and Unsafe: Why Kansas Universities Must Reject and Not Adapt to Weaponized Campuses,” 4 Sept. 2016. My statement to the university’s Weapons Advisory Work Group.
- “Why Campus Carry Threatens Higher Education,” 24 Mar. 2016
- “Guns vs. Schools,” 2 Dec. 2015. Includes a link to the Kansas State University Distinguished Professors’ statement.
- “When Will I Be Shot Dead?” 1 Oct. 2015.
Finally, to any academics who may be reading this: Is your university in a state or country with (relatively) competent governance? Or is it a private university (and thus not required to weaponize)? Does it seek an expert on children’s literature? Well, seek no further! Here is my curriculum vitae and a page devoted to my books (with selected reviews of same):
- CV
- books – the eleventh, Was the Cat in the Hat Black? will be out this July from Oxford UP.
Drop me a line. (Email address is at right, under “A note on mp3s.”) I’d love to hear from you!