Campuses bar guns throughout

Despite Missouri’s new concealed-weapons law, it will still be illegal to carry a gun on Columbia’s college campuses once the law takes effect later this month.

Guns are not allowed on MU’s campus unless they are stored with the University of Missouri Police Department, said MUPD Interim Police Chief Jack Watring.

When the new law takes effect Oct. 11, enforcement of MU’s policy barring concealed weapons from campus will not change, Watring said.

“I don’t see the university doing things a whole lot differently than we do now,” Watring said. “We’re going to keep doing things as we always have.”

Drivers carrying guns and cutting through the MU campus on university-owned streets — such as Hospital Drive, University Avenue and parts of Providence Road — would violate university regulations even if they had a concealed-weapons permit, Watring said.

“Technically, they would be in violation of the MU policy,” Watring said.

On city streets that cut through campus, however, the new law covers gun owners with conceal-and-carry permits, Watring said.

“We’re still trying to get a clarification on that point,” he added.

Watring said he is working with MU officials to clarify the school’s interpretation of the law, but he declined to comment on the specifics of those discussions.

Firearms are barred from both Columbia College and Stephens College campuses, officials from both colleges said.