Colorado State University Bans Guns

[Big_Red]

Colorado State university Bans Guns

Colorado State University will join most major colleges nationwide in forbidding concealed weapons on campus after a vote that pitted faculty asking for a ban against students demanding the right to carry guns.

The university's Board of Governors voted 7-0 Friday to require gun bans on its campuses in Fort Collins and Pueblo.

Guns are already off-limits at K-12 schools in Colorado, the University of Colorado and at virtually all campuses nationwide. But Colorado State University has followed state law that allows people to carry guns, even concealed weapons with the right permit.

Both concealed and unconcealed weapons will now be banned.

Officials said the gun ban will leave Utah campuses as the only ones where concealed weapons are allowed. Utah has a law allowing concealed weapons on state property, and a court has ruled there is no exception for colleges.

Colorado State board members acted Friday after a faculty group at the Fort Collins campus asked for a ban.

"Overwhelmingly the faculty feel our campus will be a safer place" with a concealed weapons ban, said Dan Turk, associate professor of computer information systems.

But many students opposed the ban, and the student government at the Fort Collins campus urged the board not to ban guns.

Senior Brady Allen, who lawfully carries a weapon on campus, told the board that fear of an accidental discharge from a concealed weapon was a silly reason to ban guns.

"You might as well ban everything that has a potential risk -- cars, alcohol and sports," said Allen, a 25-year-old history student and a former Marine.

Almost all college campuses nationwide ban concealed weapons. But gun-rights advocates say the bans make students vulnerable to attack. The question took on greater prominence after a gunman at Virginia Tech killed 32 people and wounded 23 before killing himself in 2007.

Since the Virginia Tech massacre, proposals to repeal campus gun bans have been considered in many states, although none has been repealed.

Currently, 26 states ban concealed weapons on any school property. Twenty-three states, including Colorado, allow individual campuses to decide for themselves, though CSU officials say they don't know of any other major schools that allow concealed firearms.

In Colorado, it's unclear how many students at either campus are permitted to carry concealed weapons. The campuses don't keep records.

But spokespeople for both schools have said they suspect that few carry guns. Many students aren't even eligible, because Colorado requires permit holders to be 21.

Colorado State's unusual gun policy stems from a 2003 Colorado law that made concealed weapons legislation statewide, not variable by county. After that, the University of Colorado in Boulder banned concealed weapons.

Gun rights activists sued, arguing CU couldn't change state law on campus.

When a judge sided with CU in April, upholding the gun ban, the faculty at Colorado State's Fort Collins campus proposed a ban there, too.

Now it's up both Colorado State presidents to write and enact gun bans on their campuses. The board's vote instructs the presidents to submit a weapons plan by February.

I can only hope that the 7-member Board of Governors never experiences an incident like the one at Virginia Tech. I wonder what they would say then.

 

[firestorm]

Likely "Well, we did our best to prevent something like this. See, we banned guns here. We are being proactive in protecting our students."

 

[Nicole]

They'll say they were trying to make people "feel safer", that academic environments should be "free from fear"...just like the Tech officials said.

 

[drumenigma]

"Criminals in Colorado rejoice knowing that their job is made much safer now by the university's board. Leroy Jones from the CAG(Criminal Actions Guild) said, "Now we don't needs to worry about dem students packin heat. We can now commit our criminal acts knowing that our safety is intact.'"

 

[Dr_Scholl]

I just read though that the local sheriff will not enforce the ban. So it looks like their little rule has no teeth to it.

 

[Baystatesuks]

All guns, concealed or otherwise, are currently banned at most VA public colleges. There are movements to get those rules/regs. reversed for those who can legally carry concealed, i.e., those with a VA CHP permit.

 

[Custom Buck]

I just read though that the local sheriff will not enforce the ban. So it looks like their little rule has no teeth to it.

The sheriff doesnt have to enforce it for it to have teeth. if a student gets caught the school will take action, most likely expelling the student. if a criminal case is something the school could go through with, the sheriff, or LE official would have no choice but to go through with it.

 

[drgrant]

I just read though that the local sheriff will not enforce the ban. So it looks like their little rule has no teeth to it.

It'll always have teeth. It's called "getting expelled".

The fact that the "sheriff won't enforce" it is irrelevant... obviously, if it's not a actual law, he can't do any enforcement on it.

This ban is an "administrative" type thing. EG- violate it (and get caught) and lose your seat/credits or lose your job (if you're staff).

Might make for an interesting court case, if someone is willing to push the issue far enough, especially given state entity. (EG, an argument that a state school cannot discriminate is more likely to fly than against a private
school. )

-Mike

 

[Dr_Scholl]

All guns, concealed or otherwise, are currently banned at most VA public colleges. There are movements to get those rules/regs. reversed for those who can legally carry concealed, i.e., those with a VA CHP permit.

Were trying, but not much luck so far. Hopefuly things will change since this is a pro gun state.

Since i'll be trasferring to Old Dominion University, it would be nice if they'd legalize concealed carry on their campus. I know two people from work who go there that have been robbed at gun point. It's a dangerous area and people get mugged, carjacked, shot etc all the time, but the board still won't let people carry.

 

[Marcus5aurelius]

Put one more on the list for "soft targets"

 

[terraformer]

"Overwhelmingly the faculty feel our campus will be a safer place" with a concealed weapons ban, said Dan Turk, associate professor of computer information systems.

Feelings, nothing more than feelings...

 

[kevin9]

Yet another example of the elites forgetting who's paying the bill and who works for whom.

 

[Jose]

Such "ban" has no force of law. It is just a simple trespass if you are just joe citizen. Ignore it.

 

[LoginName]

Meanwhile, in another part of the state...

Campus Bans Nerf Guns, Zombies In Peril
A Colorado campus has banned Nerf guns, which are used as a part of college game.

BOULDER, Colo. (December 4, 2009)—Officials have banned Nerf guns from the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder, where the guns were used as part of a game called “Humans Versus Zombies” in which members of the “human team” can free the zombies for 15 minutes by shooting them with the toy guns.

Campus officials say students can still play what amounts to a game of tag, but must used balled-up socks to free the zombies because the Nerf guns could be mistaken for real weapons.


Some call the ban silly, pointing out that Nerf guns are yellow and orange and obviously no t real, but campus police disagree, saying that if the guns are painted black, they do indeed resemble real weapons.

And conversely, they say real weapons can be painted yellow and orange to make them appear to be toys.

Students caught with Nerf guns could be fined as much as $100 or even expelled.

Students are hoping to negotiate a compromise with university administrators that would allow them to play the game for one week in the spring.

About 3,500 students have signed up to play

http://www.kwtx.com/offbeatnews/headlines/78549417.html



___

 

[jcr]

"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel sate on our campus."
--Larry Hincker, administration at VA Tech

Larry said this a couple months before the infamous day at VA Tech. It was his response to the defeat of a bill that would repeal a campus gun ban that even applied to licensed to carry citizens.

He will live forever thinking that he helped make students feel safe -- just before they died.

 

[OnTheRoad]

Wonder if they'll let the students wear body armor, then?

 

[exo]

"Feel safe." Ugh. How is it that these people can feel so damned safe while being so unsafe?

 

[ryan81986]