The right to bear arms for protection can extend to college campuses, and it's been a hot topic following recent campus shootings. However, one campus in the Valley says it's not going totally gun free to respect their student's rights.

On the other hand, a number of other college campuses across the nation have decided to go totally gun free. While there is some debate about how effective that decision is, officials at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave says that decision is not entirely up to the school.

"We've chosen not to exclude our students and employees from a right that the general public has," says Bridget Baylor, the college's public relations coordinator.

Currently, BRCC prohibits firearms with the exception that people who have the appropriate conceal and carry permits can still do so. Meanwhile, other colleges say they are totally gun free to avoid shootings, like the ones at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University that were at the hands of two men with mental illness.

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell quotes excerpts from Thursday's ruling that he says the U.S. Supreme Court has to keep in mind.

"Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on the possession of firearms by felons and the mental ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sales of arms," says McDonnell.

BRCC says it is not trying to take a stand but to obey the law. A campus group, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, recently announced plans for a meeting in Washington D.C. on August 1 to discuss why they support carrying guns on campus.

Critics of totally gun free campuses, say the policies were not able to prevent the shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School, which were gun free zones during the attacks.