NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University Police Chief Greg Robinson is attending a national conference this week with about 20 other top campus law enforcement officials to discuss campus-carry policies.

The conference, sponsored by the National Center for Campus Public Safety, is Nov. 15-16 in McKinney, Texas. Some of the attendees represent campuses in states where campus carry has been in existence for some time, and others are from states where legislation has recently passed or is pending.

In Tennessee, a law allowing concealed guns to be carried on college campuses went into effect July 1. Under the measure, full-time employees – including professors and staff members – with a valid handgun permit can carry firearms with them on campus. Anyone who wants to carry has to register with campus or local law enforcement first.

So far, Robinson said 18 people at TSU have requested to carry guns and are in compliance.

The police chief said he’s looking forward to the conference because it gives campus law enforcement and safety officials an opportunity to discuss their campus-carry policies, and their implementation process.

“We’re going to discuss what institutions across the nation have done, what we’ve done,” said Robinson, “and come away with better ideas.”

NCCPS Director Kim Richmond said the purpose of the discussion is to “identify critical items to consider during the development and implementation of policy and procedures reflecting current legislation regarding campus carry.”

“This forum will produce a report that outlines considerations that institutions should deliberate when implementing policy and procedures for campus carry,” Richmond said.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are currently 18 states that ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Wyoming.

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With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 25 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.