Bill would allow open carry of firearms
By: Dustin Gardiner
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: News
If a bill proposed by Utah lawmakers passes, U students with concealed weapons permits won't have to cover up their guns when they go to class.
Current U policy requires weapons carriers to keep their guns concealed, a position administrators argue is backed up by state law.
House Bill 473 would amend the firearm code to ensure that permit holders are allowed to visibly carry firearms statewide, including the campuses of state universities and public schools. A committee of representatives in the Utah State Legislature unanimously passed the bill Monday. The measure will now move to the full House.
U administrators are opposing the bill because they say allowing students and others to visibly display their firearms on campus would intimidate students, especially in light of recent "horrific shootings" on college campuses.
"We're concerned about the feeling that could create on campus," said Kim Wirthlin, the U's vice president for government relations. "We believe that having students...carry their weapons in the open is not good policy."
Wirthlin said allowing open carry on campus could cause the U to lose some of its faculty members.
Gun-rights activists, including the Second Amendment Students of Utah, complain that the U's policy prohibiting open carry violates state law.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told committee members the bill would clarify that concealed weapons permit holders are not required to cover their guns. He mentioned that the U and several other state institutions have run into disputes about their interpretation of the law. Thomas McCrory, a senior business major, said the U threatened to expel him last spring if he didn't cover up his hand gun.
"I think what this bill will do is clear up the confusion," Shurtleff said.
Lawmakers asked Shurtleff to write an opinion clarifying open carry rules, but the attorney general said he thought it best that legislators clear up the dispute.
No one present at the meeting spoke out against the bill. U representatives did not attend the meeting.
Wirthlin said the bill has quickly moved through the Legislature. She had not heard about the measure prior to being contacted by the The Daily Utah Chronicle last week.
Gun activists say because current law does not specifically outlaw permit holders from visibly carrying firearms, the U cannot prohibit it.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, blasted the U last fall for prohibiting open carry.
"I don't care where they stand on it...I'm tired of playing with them," Oda told The Chronicle. "What (their interpretation) tells me is that they don't know the English language."
John Morris, general counsel for the U, has defended the U's policy, saying that language about concealed weapons permits clearly indicates that they are intended to be concealed on school property.
"This exception allows a permit holder to carry a concealed weapon (on school grounds) only if it's concealed," Morris told The Chronicle last December. "The concealed weapons permit only permits you to carry a concealed weapon -- it doesn't permit you to do all sorts of other things. And it's clear from other statutory language."
State law generally allows lawful gun owners to openly carry firearms in public, except in places such as schools or churches. The issue is whether concealed permit carriers have an exception that would let them open carry on a college campus.
Students and staff with permits have been allowed to carry guns on campus since fall 2006 when the Utah State Supreme Court struck down the U's gun ban.
Dee Rowland, chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, attended Monday's meeting and said she is outraged by the bill, especially considering the impact it would have on college campuses.
"Why do we continue to facilitate the availability of handguns?" Rowland asked. "Is this the kind of society we want?"
d.gardiner@chronicle.utah.edu
Current U policy requires weapons carriers to keep their guns concealed, a position administrators argue is backed up by state law.
House Bill 473 would amend the firearm code to ensure that permit holders are allowed to visibly carry firearms statewide, including the campuses of state universities and public schools. A committee of representatives in the Utah State Legislature unanimously passed the bill Monday. The measure will now move to the full House.
U administrators are opposing the bill because they say allowing students and others to visibly display their firearms on campus would intimidate students, especially in light of recent "horrific shootings" on college campuses.
"We're concerned about the feeling that could create on campus," said Kim Wirthlin, the U's vice president for government relations. "We believe that having students...carry their weapons in the open is not good policy."
Wirthlin said allowing open carry on campus could cause the U to lose some of its faculty members.
Gun-rights activists, including the Second Amendment Students of Utah, complain that the U's policy prohibiting open carry violates state law.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told committee members the bill would clarify that concealed weapons permit holders are not required to cover their guns. He mentioned that the U and several other state institutions have run into disputes about their interpretation of the law. Thomas McCrory, a senior business major, said the U threatened to expel him last spring if he didn't cover up his hand gun.
"I think what this bill will do is clear up the confusion," Shurtleff said.
Lawmakers asked Shurtleff to write an opinion clarifying open carry rules, but the attorney general said he thought it best that legislators clear up the dispute.
No one present at the meeting spoke out against the bill. U representatives did not attend the meeting.
Wirthlin said the bill has quickly moved through the Legislature. She had not heard about the measure prior to being contacted by the The Daily Utah Chronicle last week.
Gun activists say because current law does not specifically outlaw permit holders from visibly carrying firearms, the U cannot prohibit it.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, blasted the U last fall for prohibiting open carry.
"I don't care where they stand on it...I'm tired of playing with them," Oda told The Chronicle. "What (their interpretation) tells me is that they don't know the English language."
John Morris, general counsel for the U, has defended the U's policy, saying that language about concealed weapons permits clearly indicates that they are intended to be concealed on school property.
"This exception allows a permit holder to carry a concealed weapon (on school grounds) only if it's concealed," Morris told The Chronicle last December. "The concealed weapons permit only permits you to carry a concealed weapon -- it doesn't permit you to do all sorts of other things. And it's clear from other statutory language."
State law generally allows lawful gun owners to openly carry firearms in public, except in places such as schools or churches. The issue is whether concealed permit carriers have an exception that would let them open carry on a college campus.
Students and staff with permits have been allowed to carry guns on campus since fall 2006 when the Utah State Supreme Court struck down the U's gun ban.
Dee Rowland, chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, attended Monday's meeting and said she is outraged by the bill, especially considering the impact it would have on college campuses.
"Why do we continue to facilitate the availability of handguns?" Rowland asked. "Is this the kind of society we want?"
d.gardiner@chronicle.utah.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 46
Jennifer
posted 2/19/08 @ 7:42 AM MST
Have we not learned?
NIU last Thursday!
http://www.niu.edu/index.shtml
Jennifer
posted 2/19/08 @ 7:53 AM MST
Have we not learned?
NIU last Thursday.
http://www.niu.edu/index.shtml
Drew
posted 2/19/08 @ 7:58 AM MST
Why in the world would you encourage students to have weapons in a classroom?
James
posted 2/19/08 @ 9:20 AM MST
Weapons can be seen as either an item of comfort in the right hands or an item of fear in the wrong hands. At least people with carry permits are registered with the state and have shown some proficiency. (Continued…)
Robert
posted 2/19/08 @ 10:36 AM MST
This state jut gets more and more backwards.
Jack
posted 2/19/08 @ 11:03 AM MST
If you don't want to carry a gun, don't. The problem at NIU was that there was no way to fight back. Fortunately, at Trolley Square, one person was able to fight back because he had a gun. (Continued…)
mary.looser5
MAEL
posted 2/19/08 @ 11:46 AM MST
Frankly, if I see a person carrying a gun on campus I will immediately call the police and have them check it out to make certain that they have the correct permits etc. (Continued…)
Nick Bernard
posted 2/19/08 @ 12:24 PM MST
A few things:
First, although I would never carry openly, I support this bill. Why? Because under current U policy, if you are carrying concealed and your gun accidentally shows (for example, if you stretch and your shirt rides up briefly), you can be expelled. (Continued…)
John Jennings
posted 2/19/08 @ 2:28 PM MST
How am I to know who is legally entitled to carry a weapon? Will there be a stamp on their forehead? Will they wear some sort of special clothing? How am I supposed to know whether the person openly displaying a weapon is there to kill someone or not?
Would someone walking around campus displaying a firearm truly have been able to prevent the recent killings on other campuses? I think not. (Continued…)
Leesa
posted 2/19/08 @ 3:24 PM MST
We have a right to protect ourselves. If you believe that protection comes from laws, maybe you should ask one of the family members that lost someone to violence in a "gun-free" zone. (Continued…)
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