Since 2007, gun-rights advocates have tried repeatedly, and mostly unsuccessfully, to expand the number of states that allow concealed firearms on college campuses.
But new measures in Mississippi and Wisconsin have given the groups apparent victories this year, even as the scope and application of the new laws are causing some confusion.
Under the Mississippi law, people who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon can take a 16-hour gun-safety course to get permission to carry guns on college campuses as well as in schools, courthouses, and bars, said Laura P. Cutilletta, a senior lawyer with the nonprofit group Legal Community Against Violence, which advocates for gun-control laws.
The bill passed the State Legislature with little attention from the state’s public colleges because it was attached to a bill that seemed to deal with the right of court officials such as prosecutors and public defenders to carry weapons, said Donna L. Gurley, associate university lawyer for the University of Mississippi.
The state’s public colleges are still trying to determine whether an older statute, not amended by the new law, will still bar guns on campuses. “There are a lot more questions than answers,” Ms. Gurley said.
In Wisconsin, a new law allows college campuses to continue banning firearms, but only inside buildings and only if the institution has placed a sign on each and every exterior door telling people that guns are not allowed, said David F. Giroux, a spokesman for the 26 campuses of the University of Wisconsin system.
The law won’t go into effect until early November, four months after it was signed by the governor, Mr. Giroux said, and the colleges are trying to work out the details involved in putting it in place. The system’s Board of Regents will have to pass new policies to approve putting signs on buildings, for example, he said.
In addition to those two laws, gun-rights advocates are counting a new law in Oklahoma as another small victory. That measure allows gun owners to keep weapons in their cars while they are parked at a technical or vocational college, said David V. Burnett, director of public relations for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
At the same time, however, there were several state bills allowing guns on campuses that seemed certain to pass until they ran into unexpected hurdles. Janice K. Brewer, the governor of Arizona and a Republican, vetoed such a measure, saying the bill’s language was too vague. A proposal to allow guns on college campuses in Texas passed the State Senate initially but hit procedural roadblocks in the House of Representatives and died.
While the vast majority of bills to expand gun rights on campuses failed, Mr. Burnett says the movement has made great strides in its short history. “I see that half the states in the union are talking about guns on campus,” he said. “That’s a huge step forward.”
