Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) signed a bill Wednesday allowing certain concealed-carried firearms on the state’s college campuses, despite some strong opposition from administrators and students.
Otter said he signed the bill in order to protect Second Amendment rights, which he said already have exceptions.
“This is not the circumstance to carve out another,” Otter said, as quoted by the Idaho Statesman. “We all will be watching closely to ensure the interests of Idaho citizens are served while their constitutional freedoms are protected.”
The heads of all eight of Idaho’s public colleges opposed the bill, according to the Statesman. Students and professors were also vocal on the issue, and Greg Hampikian, a Boise State University biology and criminal justice professor, even took to the New York Times with a compelling tongue-in-cheek op-ed that posed the question “When may I shoot a student?”
