Des Moines Register
04-18-07
No gun mandate for campus officers
A proposal requiring the state universities' police officers to carry guns was
narrowly defeated by the Iowa Senate this afternoon.
Supporters of the proposal, prompted by the massacre at Virginia Tech, noted
that the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are the only schools in the
Big Ten and Big 12 conferences whose officers cannot carry guns.
Critics said the decision should rest with the Board of Regents, which currently
has a policy that prohibits campus police at the U of I, ISU and Northern Iowa
from carrying firearms in most cases.
The Senate vote on the proposal, offered as an amendment to an education
spending bill, ended in a 25-25 tie. Members of the Republican minority
supported the gun requirement and most Democrats were opposed.