South Carolina's legislature this year defeated a bill that would allow permit holders to carry guns onto public school campuses.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus members at more than 60 colleges are aiming to change their state laws to allow permit holders to carry on campus.

Many colleges generally oppose, for safety reasons, allowing concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns on campus and have resisted efforts to change the law.

The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, which represents campus public safety officials, said the presence of students carrying concealed weapons "has the potential to dramatically increase violence on our college and university campuses."

Allowing concealed weapons brings the potential for accidental gun discharge or misuse of firearms at parties, including those where alcohol or drugs are used, and the possibility for guns to be used to settle students' disputes, the group said in a statement.

In the Virginia General Assembly, a bill to require schools to allow permit holders to carry concealed handguns was killed in subcommittee this year, said bill sponsor Mark L. Cole. Cole said he will wait until the Virginia Tech study panel issues its findings before deciding whether to reintroduce such a measure.

"Obviously the current policy is ineffective; it certainly didn't protect anyone at Virginia Tech," Cole said.

For their part, Virginia Tech officials have not actively lobbied against attempts to modify Virginia's law, spokesman Larry Hincker said, but the university's position on weapons has not changed after the shootings.

"We don't believe that guns have any place in the classroom," Hincker said. "We've experienced far more of guns in the classroom than any university should have to endure."

On the Net:

http://www.concealedcampus.org

- Associated Press