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California public colleges hold military-grade weapons
An investigation found many California public colleges and universities possess AR-15-style rifles, stun grenades and long-range acoustic devices. Several campuses failed to publish required inventories or hold public forums mandated by a 2021 law.
Jul 9, 5:23 AM·1m read2 sources
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California's public colleges and universities maintain stocks of military-grade equipment including AR-15-style rifles, stun grenades and long-range acoustic devices. A review of 148 campuses across the California Community Colleges, University of California and California State University systems identified widespread gaps in compliance with a 2021 state law.
The law requires governing boards to approve military equipment policies each year, publish inventories and conduct public forums. Many departments produced the required reports only after being contacted by investigators, and some omitted quantities, manufacturers or descriptions.
Equipment holdings and policy gaps Hundreds of semi-automatic rifles, thousands of chemical munitions and hundreds of thousands of rifle rounds are held across the three systems. San Jose State University and San Francisco State University list AR-15 rifles even though system policy does not authorize them; a Cal State spokesperson described the rifles as standard issue, while San Jose State's own report listed them as specialized firearms.
The California State University Board of Trustees last reviewed its systemwide policy in 2022. The chancellor's office stated it does not track whether individual campuses meet transparency requirements.
Use of acoustic devices and student response UCLA police deployed long-range acoustic devices 71 times during the 2024-25 academic year. UC Santa Cruz police used a similar device during 2024 protests. The devices can reach 160 decibels. At Mt. San Antonio College, students organized demonstrations after officials proposed adding AR-15 rifles.
As of June 2026 the rifles had not been purchased. Compton College adopted a corrective action plan and held a public meeting after learning its police had issued semi-automatic rifles for more than seven years without an approved policy. Several other campuses updated policies or pledged to reduce inventories after receiving questions from investigators.
