Dive Brief:
- Students, faculty and staff with concealed carry permits can now carry handguns on campus at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and any other public universities, thanks to a new state law.
- Universities are still allowed to enforce their own gun policies, and Duke and Elon Universities and Meredith College are all likely to continue their existing gun bans.
- UNC-system officials and campus police chiefs opposed the law, which supporters claim will increase campus safety despite its requirement that the weapons remain in a closed compartment or container inside of a locked car.
Dive Insight:
North Carolina isn't the first state to adopt a law allowing guns on college campuses. In Colorado, for example, the state's Supreme Court last year struck down the University of Colorado's gun ban, leading the school to adopt "gun dorms" that haven't quite been in high demand.