The Virginia Tech killings in April served as a grim reminder, not just to those in higher education but also to lawmakers, of what could happen on almost any college campus.
“You’re always thinking about how you can do things better,” said Jeffrey D. Duncan, a state representative in South Carolina. “So when I saw that, I wondered, ‘Could that happen here?'”
Mr. Duncan, a Republican, responded by drafting legislation designed to prevent a similar event. In doing so, he joined dozens of officials around the nation.