State Sen. Brian Munzlinger said last week he's working on a substitute for his bill allowing weapons on college campuses in Missouri.
However, many of the state's college administrators hope his bill goes nowhere.
Current state law allows qualifying Missourians to get concealed weapons permits, allowing them to carry in most places - but that law prohibits carrying those weapons on college campuses.
Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, and state Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Springfield, this year filed identical bills to change that part of the law - with provisions allowing a school to continue banning those weapons only if the institution can demonstrate:
• The permanent placement of security personnel and electronic weapons screening devices at each entrance to any building on the property;
• A requirement that security personnel screen each person entering the building for weapons; and
• A requirement that any weapons found be held by security personnel while the person is in the building.
Munzlinger has said several times the bill is needed because "mass shooters can kill many people in the time it takes for police to arrive," while properly trained law-abiding citizens "can save lives while waiting on the authorities."
State Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, also filed a bill that would cancel the current ban without any local campus option for keeping it.
The Senate's Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee took testimony Jan. 27 on both bills and hasn't taken any action on them yet.
Kelley's bill was assigned to the House Emerging Issues Committee in January and has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
Lincoln University President Kevin Rome told the News Tribune last week: "I think, because we have a full-fledged police force on campus, that they should be the ones entrusted to protect the general safety of the campus and those who are on campus.
"It frightens me to think that we could possibly have renegades or individuals who take on the position that they are hoping to keep the campus safe, when that may not be their area of training or expertise."
Rome is in his third year heading LU's administration, and his previous experiences have included working or studying at schools in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas.
"I have been on campuses where students have been expelled for having weapons on campus because of the safety concerns," he said.
Don Claycomb, president of the State Technical College of Missouri in Linn, said: "Our policy ... is to be consistent with the state law. However, the Board (of Regents) granted the president the authority to authorize someone to carry on-campus in writing.
"I have been asked to do that I think twice but have never granted that permission."
Claycomb said the school obviously "will adjust to whatever comes down" from the Legislature and Gov. Jay Nixon.
However, "we would much prefer that the law stay like it is."
If lawmakers approve Munzlinger's or Kelley's bill, Claycomb said, "I don't see us spending the money if it happens to be a bill that says you have to have security of some kind on every door.
"We're not in a position to spend money to do something like that."
Claycomb retires July 1, so implementing any changes will fall to his yet-to-be-hired successor.
Still, he said: "We're happy with the law as it currently is."
Last week, Lincoln's Faculty Senate passed a resolution opposing the legislative proposals, even with the opt-out language in the Munzlinger and Kelley bills.
"We remain adamant that the bill(s) are poorly conceived responses to dubious perceptions regarding public safety; that they in fact and in themselves represent an imminent threat to the safety of university personnel and students throughout the state," the resolution said, "and that they are a betrayal of principles of reverence that have rightly informed policies regarding the prohibition of weapons in all civilized societies throughout recorded history."
Faculty Senate President Bryan Salmons told the News Tribune the resolution passed by a voice vote with "only a couple of dissents."
Rome declined to comment on the resolution's contents.
"I can appreciate their looking out for their own safety and security and taking a stance," he explained. "But, I also think that if the intent is to help the campuses, I would hope that we would be solicited (by lawmakers) for involvement in the conversation.
"Because if they're trying to create more safety for us, and the overwhelming response to the bill is that campuses don't want guns to be present, then there is a disconnect somewhere between the intent and the desired outcome."
Additionally, Rome said, "I'm concerned about the emotional development of students who may act out of emotions and not fully think through their decisions prior to taking an action.
"I'm really concerned - if a student has a firearm in a residence hall - how secure that firearm may be and who can have access to that firearm."
Although none of the bills have been moved from a committee to the full Senate or House for debate, several higher education lobbyists told the News Tribune they expect the proposal to begin moving quickly.