As of Nov. 1, Wisconsin will enact its concealed weapons law. While guns will be allowed on campus, they will not be allowed in campus buildings or city buildings. Signage will be posted on all buildings explaining that guns are prohibited inside.

This new revision will undoubtedly raise a few questions. After all, if students are carrying guns on campus, where are their firearms supposed to go when they enter buildings for class?

There are two options: students can always deposit their weapons in their car, if they have one that is, or students could store their weapons at the police station, where guns have to be cased, unloaded and students must call ahead to announce they are bringing a weapon.

There are flaws with both of these plans, however. Leaving a weapon in a parked vehicle could bring trouble. If the firearm was in sight from the window, the risk of having it stolen could run high.

Having guns fall into the wrong hands, especially on campus, would be a bad thing. While guns stored in vehicles are supposed to be unloaded and cased, people can be careless.

Secondly, a student who regularly carries their weapon on campus would most likely be inconvenienced by storing their gun at the police station.

While the police station’s service is a great one for hunters and those who don’t plan on having their weapon on them throughout the day, those who want to drop off their firearm before and after class may feel hassled.

While this problem may have no clear-cut solution right now, the university should take action to install firearm lockers outside of university buildings. If the university plans on prohibiting guns in the classroom, which many would agree is the right move, officials should provide firearm owners with a solution.

Hopefully gun owners will not have firearms in backpacks while at class.

Despite these issues, the concealed weapons law is great for Wisconsin. As Americans ,we have the civil liberty to bear arms, and the fact that our rights are being recognized by the state is great. However, the law will take time for university and law enforcement officials to adjust to.

With that said, students should feel safe on campus. Law enforcement officers have urged that this law will not make the campus a more dangerous place.
However, if students begin to see the glint of a gun in their lab partners’ backpacks, gun lockers may come sooner rather than later.