Senate passes bill allowing armed staff at colleges

Staff members at state colleges and universities could sign up to carry guns on campus under a bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill (HB 757), sponsored by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, in the Senate and Rep. Michele Salzman, R-Pensacola, in the House, would also require public universities and colleges to adopt an “active assailant” plan to respond to mass shooters.

The proposal follows the deadly shooting at Florida State University on April 17, 2025, when a gunman shot and killed two people and injured five others.

At the time, Salzman was taking classes in FSU’s Applied American Politics and Policy master’s degree program.

The bill also would require institutions to train faculty to detect and respond to mental health issues, adopt a family reunification plan as part of active-assailant responses and make it a level-six felony to discharge a weapon within 1,000 feet of a campus.

The measure passed on a 26-10 vote and now heads to the House.