By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that despite As of October, 2026, there has been no Florida college or university that has taken advantage of the Armed Guardian Program?
The program was established by House Bill 757 in the Spring of this year, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law on May 15, 2026, which expanded the state’s existing School Guardian Program, created after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, to allow trained faculty and staff at public colleges to carry concealed firearms on campus.
Although the program is optional and the university presidents have the authority to appoint guardians, and local sheriffs are required to assist with the mandatory 144-hour training, psychological evaluations, and drug tests, zero colleges or universities have applied.
Some Left-leaning political organizations and gun safety coalitions, including Moms Deman Action, assert that students and staff have explicitly rejected the idea, but fail to mention how groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety apply pressure on college campus presidents to reject the Armed Guardian Program.