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Tennessee lawmakers are thinking about making it easier to bring guns onto college campuses.
The topic came up during a hearing called after the recent shooting at an Oregon community college.
Under current Tennessee law, students cannot carry guns. Professors and campus workers can keep guns locked up in their cars, but only police, military and other trained personnel can take a gun onto university grounds or into a building.
Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, says plenty of people want to revisit those policies after the Oct. 1 shooting in Roseburg, Oregon. He believes more guns would reduce such crimes.
"I would put the number at at least 10 legislators — at least 10 legislators — that I've spoken to who this is an issue for and have said they're going to bring bills."
Lawmakers would take the bills up when they return in January. The ideas include letting more people carry on university grounds, especially at private colleges.
Tennessee is one of about a dozen states that ban guns on all campuses — public and private. Almost as many states have laws that say explicitly that it's OK to carry on university grounds. Most of the rest leave it up to individual schools to decide.
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