Dozens of staffers with Memphis-area colleges and universities are now fully free to pack heat on campus without anyone ever knowing.
State lawmakers gave full-time employees at state-run schools permission to carry a concealed handgun on campus this year with a bill Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam wouldn’t sign but allowed to become law. However, those employees had to have a state license and register with their school’s security office before they could secretly carry their sidearm to, say, teach class, clean the grounds, or type a memo.
Registration began at Tennessee schools right around July 1st. So far, the University of Memphis (U of M) said 36 staffers have registered to carry handguns on campus. At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), 22 have registered. Southwest Tennessee Community College (STCC) officials said 17 have registered to carry guns.