From the Executive Director
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The Campaign has been mobile and visible this season – a summer, unfortunately, simmering with continued gun violence.
In Chicago while we participated in the AAPI Conference, 18 young people were struck by gunfire, four fatally, as they gathered for music and dance on a warm July eve.
Some days later in Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico canceled its “college-welcome” events when a young man pulled out a pistol in the dormitory and shot two others during video games, causing community-wide lockdowns and a massive campus evacuation.
These are recent reminders why The Campaign is resolute in standing for gun-free campuses.
It is also why over the course of a recent week we visited several college campuses, addressing the Board of Trustees at the University of Wyoming; the Office of the Dean of Students at Black Hills State University in South Dakota, as well as Gillette College and South Dakota State University.
It was the ideal opportunity to launch The Campaign’s new toolkit, Armed With Knowledge, a resource for campus-community members who face the stark reality of repealed gun-free laws.
The Campaign was present with the leadership of the University of Buffalo and Michigan State University for the moving and informative Remembrance Conference. Loyola University – Chicago hosted the AAPI Gun Violence Prevention Conference – convening dynamic and diverse leaders representing violence-prevention organizations across the nation.
Chicago also afforded us a visit to the Obama Foundation engaging with their national My Brother’s Keeper initiative. Unfortunately, we also encountered the worst incident of gun violence in that city’s history on the very same day.
As we reflect on the monumental changes the first half of 2025 has brought into our lives and onto campuses, it is time to reset and recharge for the new academic season to come. There are precious lives in the balance and campus climates to protect.
Read on in this newsletter for the proper recharge. Recent history may not be promising but consider the Revolutionary origins of colleges in this nation, the governors boldly holding the line and noble campus champions in the midst – and by all means get a copy of One Nation Under Guns – it’s a manual for this movement and nourishment for the nation.
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In wake of passage of House Bill 172, as of July 1 gun-free policies on colleges and universities are officially repealed and campuses must comply with the law’s many complex if not confusing mandates.
The bill amends Wyoming’s concealed carry laws to expand where individuals with state-issued concealed carry permits can legally bring firearms, effectively repealing many existing “gun free zones.” – with new provisions allowing permit holders to carry concealed weapons in governmental meetings, legislative sessions, public airports, public buildings, school athletic events, dormitories and educational facilities.
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Utah lawmakers updated state law governing concealed weapons which went into effect May 7. Individuals 18 years old or older and with a current Utah concealed carry permit may carry on campus.
While firearms are permitted under these terms, other “dangerous” items are restricted in housing including : paintball guns, Nerf guns, bows, arrows, crossbows, bolts, pressurized water guns (e.g., water bead blasters), swords, knives with blades over 5 inches, and throwing stars.”
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Effective July 1, as dictated by the controversial Senate Bill 100, colleges and universities cannot restrict holders of enhanced concealed carry permits to bring firearms onto campuses.
SB 100 had opposition from the Board of Regents, SDSU President & Vice President, SDSU Students Association, University of South Dakota” President, USD campus’ police chief, Southeast Technical College staff and the SD Police Chiefs Association.
SB 100 takes effect on campuses as South Dakota experiences an alarming rise in gun homicide and firearm-related suicide among its youth.
Tracking from Johns Hopkins University shows the state having a 57 percent rise in its gun death rate in one decade, 2013-2022.
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Governor Josh Stein vetoed House Bill 193 which would allow private school leaders to authorize teachers, parents or other volunteers to carry guns on campus during school hours and to act as security guards.
Governor Stein stated: “This bill would make our children less safe. Just as we should not allow guns in the General Assembly, we should keep them out of our schools unless they are in the possession of law enforcement.”
Republican members of the North Carolina legislature, with Democrat Shelly Willingham providing the necessary additional vote, overrode the governor’s veto, allowing the dangerous bill to become law.
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Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed State Bill 1020, a law which sought to force Arizona universities, colleges and community colleges to let anyone with a concealed carry permit to carry a concealed gun on campus – including classrooms, dorms and sporting events. This is the third straight year the governor has rejected allowing guns on campus.
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Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, this 2025-26 series profiles the nation’s birth of its world-class campuses, established by the new nation’s founders and patriots as environments of wisdom, not weapons.
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Founded: Charlottesville, Virginia, 1819 – its very establishment serving as an innovation for the modern university around the world.
Guns on Campus Policy: The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, established a policy in 1824 prohibiting students from possessing or using weapons on university grounds.
This policy was enacted at a Board of Visitors meeting with both Jefferson and Madison in attendance. The university’s current policy continues to prohibit weapons on campus with exceptions for law enforcement officials.
The 1824 policy stated, “No student shall, within the precincts of the University, introduce, keep or use any spirituous or vinous liquors, keep or use weapons or arms of any kind.” This policy was a deliberate decision by the university’s founders to create a safe and scholarly environment.
Today, UVA’s policy extends this prohibition to all individuals, including students, faculty, staff and visitors, with exceptions for law enforcement. Failure to comply with the policy can result in disciplinary action, including referral to the student conduct process, employee disciplinary action or even arrest.
Sample Achievement: The University of Virginia established the first school of data science in the United States, emphasizing the public good and the power of data.
Mascot: Cavaliers
Notable Alumni: Author/Poet Edgar Allen Poe, Politician/Attorney Robert F. Kennedy (UVA Law), Billionaire Businessman and Philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones and American Actress/Entertainer Tina Fey.
Photo: The Rotunda – University of Virginia, Courtesy University of Virginia Communications
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Armed With Knowledge – A Toolkit
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The Campaign can aid campuses impacted by the passage of recent campus-carry laws and the repeal of gun-free zones in their states.
The toolkit empowers school stakeholders – from faculty and students to parents and public-safety personnel – with sample questions to pose, the right for clarity on complex if not contradictory terms and conditions, as well as tangible, multimedia resources to help mitigate the risks and dangers inherent when the campus-safety climate shifts.
Access your toolkit today.
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The Campaign aligned with like-spirited organizations and advocates for National Gun Violence Awareness Day, June 6, as the Connecticut Sun hosted the Atlanta Dream at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The WNBA and its phenomenal athletes, whose skills and careers took shape on campuses coast to coast, have elevated the issue of gun violence prevention year after year on and off the court.
The Campaign thanks the WNBA for its dedication and ongoing commitment.
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Professor Antonius Wiriadjaja is an artist, advocate and faculty member in the design department at CUNY Queens College. A gun violence survivor, Antonius got caught between an assailant and the intended target, the bullet narrowly missing his heart.
His voice and advocacy includes service to Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. At the AAPI Conference he opened by asking all present to say the name of John Morant
“(Morant) ran up to where I was and he put his hand over my hand to stop me from bleeding out. A year later, he was shot and killed. Gun violence is an epidemic. It’s worse than the pandemic we have just survived through – because it’s continuing,”
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Dr. Laura Vargas is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She researches exposure to trauma and mental health of recent Latinx immigrants in the United States.
She is an advisory council member for the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center and member of the Issue Advisory Committee for the Nationwide Public Awareness and Education Campaign Aimed at Reducing Firearm Deaths, Injuries and Impact of Gun Violence on Youth in America by the Ad Council.
Dr. Vargas spoke at White House Roundtable on Addressing Gun Violence in Latino Communities on October 11, 2024. It was the first meeting of its kind and included representatives from government, philanthropy, policy, nonprofit and academic sectors, as well as survivors and co-survivors of gun violence.
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Netroots Nation – New Orleans, Aug 7-9
ASGA National Student Government Summit – Washington, DC, Oct 9-12
RE:IMAGINE – Benefiting The Campaign – New York City, Oct 27 (See Below)
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Seeking that perfect, stimulating summer book? We cannot put down One Nation Under Guns by Dominic Erdozain, writer, historian and visiting professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
The New York Times called it an “extraordinary book … eye-opening and enraging … that rare book that can help change the way we live in this country.” We agree!
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Save The Date – October 27 in NYC
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A Special Benefit Event with Art & Activism
Martha Graham Penthouse Studio
Details to come
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Stay connected with The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus
The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus • PO Box 658 • Croton Falls, NY 10519
EIN: 46-5621817 — CFC#: 83173
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