Idaho’s State Bored of Education (yeah, that was intentional) and it’s universities are whining over a bill that will allow limited concealed carry on campuses. Apparently, they’re still clinging to the fiction that “gun-free zone” signs actually stop those intent on committing violent crimes.

The Idaho State Senate isn’t buying this sophistry, and is pressing ahead:

Idaho’s state Board of Education and all eight of its public college and university presidents announced their opposition Monday to legislation that would allow guns on campus, but lawmakers are pressing forward anyway.

The bill appears likely to pass.

“I wouldn’t bring it up if I didn’t think it had the votes to get through the committee and the rest of the process,” said state Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, lead sponsor of the bill and the chairman of the Senate State Affairs Committee, where Senate Bill 1254 was introduced.

McKenzie said he’ll hold a full hearing on the bill on Feb. 12 at 8 a.m., and after two hours of testimony, the committee will vote on whether to forward it to the full Senate. In 2011, similar legislation passed the House on a 41-28 vote before dying in the same Senate committee. It went even further, eliminating any authority for state colleges or universities to regulate guns on campus in any manner, except for in dorms.

This year’s bill would allow retired law enforcement officers and people with Idaho’s enhanced concealed-carry permit to bring firearms to campus. It would forbid guns from dormitories and large arenas or meeting rooms seating more than 1,000.

The bill seems tailored so that those who have the Idaho enhanced CCP can bring concealed firearms to classroom and administration buildings where mass shooters tend to carry out attacks, as well as parking lots and areas of the general campus where muggers and robbers might ply their trade. It specifically keeps guns out of dorms and most sporting events.

I think that a claim made against this legislation by University of Idaho interim President Don Burnett is a steaming pile of you know what.

“…many law enforcement experts are concerned that a proliferation of firearms will make response by law enforcement authorities in crisis situations more complicated and ultimately more dangerous.”

I’d like Burnett to cite these “law enforcement authorities” by name. I think you’ll find support from politically-motivated cops, but I frankly doubt he can find credible Idaho LEO shooting experts who will provide any sort of data to show his claim is valid.

One of the truest statements uttered in recent times is that there are few places in this nation more incompatible with actual freedom than modern university campuses. This carry law, SB 1254 seeks to change that at least a little bit, and should pass by a wide margin if legislators care about student safety.