A bill in the Arizona Legislature would allow students to carry non-lethal weapons on campus.

Current legislation permits some types of pepper spray on campus so long as they don’t contain oleoresin capsicum, the active ingredient in most pepper sprays. HB 2172 seeks to change that by allowing students to carry any non-lethal weapons on campus in the name of self defense.

Non-lethal, as described by the bill, applies to anything that would explicitly repel an assailant with a low probability of lasting damage to them or the environment. This would include TASERs, stun guns, knives and mace, said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert).

A similar bill, HB 2072, was introduced in 2016. It would have allowed for students to carry firearms on campus in the name of self-defense. The bill never made it to committee.