Concealed Carry and College

I went to a mojor university in the Deep South in the early'90's. I never CC'd but My Ruger MKII was always under the seat of my car. (caveats)- this was in the deep south almost 20 years ago, the campus police were cool, down-to-earth guys several of them knew me and liked my fraternity b/c they never had to worry about drugs w/us, all we had was Budweiser, we were just good 'ol boys like them (KA). never heard of anybody getting in trouble for firearms on campus except for some of our thug football players every now and then. Even then the police didn't just find them in a routine stop. always in an assault, rape, or actual gunfire case. Lobby your lawmakers & university, don't drink & drive(car search) do drugs (you're stupid,bad rep. car search) fight (bad rep., car search) I would never even drive through campus to go to the range w/an AK, AR, or cheap auto pistol. The first two scare some people and the last just looks bad. These days I probably(but not definitely) wouldn't carry. Unless you go to a school where you really feel unsafe on campus:confused: or have to travel through a bad place coming to and from campus, it just isn't worth getting kicked out of school.
 
What is the penalty for being caught on campus with a firearm?
Potentially a felony conviction and loss of firearms rights for the rest of your life. If a student, throw in being expelled from school.
Possibly less punishment if you have a license to carry it elsewhere?
Anything is possible, but I wouldn't count on it.
 
I can only speak to the Texas law, and I am not a lawyer, so read on your own and take responsibility for your own interpretation.

Texas CHL Laws

PC §46.03.

Places Weapons Prohibited

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon listed in Section 46.05(a):

(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution, any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the institution;

(2) on the premises of a polling place on the day of an election or while early voting is in progress;

(3) in any government court or offices utilized by the court, unless pursuant to written regulations or written authorization of the court;

(4) on the premises of a racetrack; or

(5) in or into a secured area of an airport.

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsections (a)(1)-(4) that the actor possessed a firearm while in the actual discharge of his official duties as a member of the armed forces or national guard or a guard employed by a penal institution, or an officer of the court.

(c) In this section:

(1) "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035.

(2) "Secured area" means an area of an airport terminal building to which access is controlled by the inspection of persons and property under federal law.

So, on to Sec. 46.035 .....

(3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.

Again, I am not a lawyer, so you're on your own, but the link above is where you'll find the laws for TX.
 
Don't forget the Danny Rawlings case in the University of Florida. He killed five people and mutilated their bodies. I'm sure no one needs to be reminded of what happened in Virginia Tech. As long as someone is old enough and has a concealed weapon permit, they should be allowed to carry on campus. I'm sure the outcome would have been quite different had just a handful of students been armed that day. I carried in my car, but never on my person when I was in school. I just left the glove box locked until I left University property.

Until the laws change, I suggest you carry a good knife and flashlight. You might even consider going with good pepper spray or a Tazer.
 
Potentially a felony conviction and loss of firearms rights for the rest of your life.
How do you figure that david? No law in VA that says I cant carry on a university (except for VCU, which does have a law saying you cant)... Only thing that stops me from doing so is a signed piece of paper telling the school I wouldn't. Misdemeanor trespassing I can sort of see... but felony?
 
I'm in Blacksburg Virginia, and have a carry permit.

Legally I could carry on any college campus in Virginia except:
Virginia Commonwealth University. (KLRANGL beat me to this point)

Here are the Virginia laws that could apply to campuses.

· Private property when prohibited by the owner of the property, or where posted as prohibited. Violation is a trespass charge and not a firearms violation
Only valid for private schools that post signs forbidding firearms, notice the last line. trespassing, not firearms violation.
· Virginia Commonwealth University (8VAC901050). Violation is a trespass charge and not a firearms violation
VCU is listed by name in the state law, but again, look at the last line. (KLRANGL beat me to this point)

· School property/school functions (School busses are school property) unless gun is unloaded, in an enclosed container (but NOT in the glove box or console) and in the vehicle. A car's trunk is considered an enclosed container. However, a concealed handgun permit holder can have a
loaded, concealed handgun in the vehicle while in the school parking lot, traffic circle, etc. The concealed handgun and the permit holder must stay in the vehicle. Firearms are not banned from property open to the public where a school function is being held unless that property is being used exclusively for the school function. Violation of this statute is a felony

This is the big one, but it only applies to K-12 schools, not college.


So, in virginia, since I'm not a student I could carry on campus and all the school could do is ask me to leave.

Do I do so? After the shooting at Tech even though I'm well within the law I don't even consider it. It's just not worth the hassle of trying to explain it to the Campus Police if it's noticed when I only go into tech 3-4 times a year.

I'm on the campus of Radford University more often (my girlfriend goes there, and I practice with their Fencing Team) but again, I'm not willing to fight the administration over it.

We've had a 3 month long fight with them about us having the fencing gear on campus, and those aren't even a real weapons. Members of their ROTC were punished for having Nerf Guns in their dorms last month too.

Anyway, I normally leave my pistol locked in the car if I have to go onto a campus for something.
 
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How do you figure that david? No law in VA that says I cant carry on a university
That is why I said "potentially." You might note the OP is not in VA. Thus the importance of checking what your local laws are. For example, in my sitation I could lose my job, but there could be no criminal charges against me at all. The guy right next to me, however, could face up to five years at hard labor.
 
The carry on campus issue is generating a lot of noise where I work right now.

Shooting Revives Concealed Carry Controversy
November 13, 2008 • By Katie Thisdell, The Breeze

I'll post the article but you folks should go to the site and see the comments (one guy went totally nutzo)

Shooting Revives Concealed Carry Controversy

November 13, 2008 • By Katie Thisdell, The Breeze

After last weekend’s off-campus shooting, students are reacting to the presence of guns in the college community. While some people believe guns are a threat, others support their protective role.

Senior Danny Dales is the campus leader for the unofficial chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. The SCCC advocates legal adults over the age of 21 with permits to carry concealed handguns on campuses for personal protection from all types of violent crime. With 70 students interested in the group, he hopes it will be a recognized organization in the spring.

“The overall reaction of our organization is this is just another example of why we feel we deserve the right to personal protection,” Dales, a biology major, said in response to the shooting.

In Hunters Ridge early Sunday morning, only the perpetrators were known to have shot a gun. However, SCCC believes the incident may have been different if more weapons had been used. Concealed weapons are allowed in off-campus areas, but the topic is touchy.

“Wouldn’t the violence have just been escalated?” said senior Loretta Vitt, a psychology major. “I don’t see how concealed weapons or more weapons could have helped this situation, but only made it far worse. More people could have been caught in the crossfire for sure.”

Dales, on the other hand, believes that concealed weapons are the key to guaranteeing safety.

“One cannot say whether or not an armed citizen could have prevented this incident,” Dales said. “But a citizen is severely disadvantaged when their right to personal protection is revoked, as it is on most public universities across the country.”

Dales believes more students might express interest in the SCCC after this incident.

“If this type of violence were to migrate onto the campus of JMU, we would like to see those students who legally acquire a permit to exercise their right for personal protection,” Dales said.

In Rockingham County, 728 people applied for concealed weapons permits between January and October, according to the Office of the Clerk of Court. They have seen the number of applications rise in recent months compared to past years.

There are no records for how many students specifically are registered, though, because they apply based on their permanent residence.

Senior Barbie Spitz, a sociology major, hopes that concealed weapons are never permitted on campus. She described JMU as a safe community where students go to classes to learn. She said guns could make students uneasy and disrupt the environment.

“If you don’t know who is carrying a gun around, then you don’t know if it’s that person who gave you a funny look walking down the Village hill,” Spitz said. “That’s really scary. I think it would put a lot of people on edge.”

Though the SCCC supports concealed weapons as a defense to an attack, many students believe that they would not be limited to such a situation.

Vitt doesn’t want to take these risks. She said she doesn’t believe in guns. She cited more deaths in homes from accidental shootings than from situations of domestic violence or self-defense.

“Limiting the use of guns in everyday environments is just common sense,” Vitt said.

Spitz said: “Guns don’t keep the safety. They kill people.”

Contact Katie Thisdell at thisdeke@jmu.edu
 
So the moral of your story is I should just carry on campus anyways and not get caught. However, I think my penalty would be slightly more sever than yours.

Better judged by 12 than carried by six



have you looked into things like spray?
 
Has anyone noticed that the gun laws are cyclical? They want to reduce gun violence in schools and public places like the post office so they take away all the guns from the 'good guys' leaving guns only in the hands of the 'bad guys'. And then in these 'gun free zones' we get horrific massacres and everyone wonders why. It makes sense that the bad guys are going to go where there are no guns because they have total control over the situation. Only after these terrible events happen will they bring the guns back into these gun free zones and give them back to the 'good guys'. I think they need to either give us concealed carry rights EVERYWHERE or have designated people in these gun free zones that carry and are trained to protect, perhaps a certain number of volunteer students are selected to be armed and trained, sort of like Air Marshals on planes. Bottom line: you need guns to protect gun free zones!
 
I think they need to either give us concealed carry rights EVERYWHERE or have designated people in these gun free zones that carry and are trained to protect, perhaps a certain number of volunteer students are selected to be armed and trained, sort of like Air Marshals on planes.

I know it's idealistic, but it'd be nice if they just focused on the behavior instead of the implement.
 
See this:

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d26c29ff-f134-4202-bc40-947534a6de3c

Excerpts:

The other statistic that emerged from a study of active killers is that they almost exclusively seek out "gun free" zones for their attacks.
In most states, concealed handguns are prohibited at schools and on college campuses even for those with permits.
Many malls and workplaces also place signs at their entrances prohibiting firearms on the premises.
Now tacticians believe the signs themselves may be an invitation to the active killers.
 
In the university I attended, like most universities, there were stupid stipulations to prevent protecting oneself on campus. In addition to the advice already given, I suggest getting involved on an internal level. I lobbied for students in for many beneficial issues and was voted in on the student government board. I was a voting member and helped to vote in a new campus "law" that allowed concealed carry if the individual had his/her CCL. Like most campuses, mine was run by left wing/gun hating students and faculty, but that was one of the highlights of my Student Govt. career. :)
 
Strictly forbidden at my school. i dont carry yet, but fully intend on it when i buy a pistol. My girlfriend is doing a website on this for a project, i cant wait to hear about her class's reaction.

T
 
You go to Chico State Pollution?

Anyways, the more and more I read on this and think about this, the less sense current laws/policies make to me.
 
About the only valid suit like that is if there is an on-going problem and the company has ignored it and been deceptive in the nature of the danger.
And they have. They tout their anti carry policy as being a safety measure and it is not. That constitutes fraud. They need to be held liable for every rape, robbery, auto theft, etc. and be prosecuted as accomplices.
 
And they have.
Nope. All crimes reported/discovered on campus are logged, noted, and reported for the purpose of dissemination to the public.
They tout their anti carry policy as being a safety measure and it is not. That constitutes fraud.
No. Anti-carry is but one part of their overall safety plan, which is fairly successful. Most students on campus get through without any danger or injury. Hard to prove fraud when 99% of the campus will say they have not been hurt.
They need to be held liable for every rape, robbery, auto theft, etc. and be prosecuted as accomplices.
You might want to look at the law before saying things like that. I also note that you are pushing SCCC. Might want to think about what kind of message that level of rhetoric sends out to the public.
 
Most students on campus get through without any danger or injury.

That same argument could be used to not have concealed carry. Most people go thru life without being the victim of a violent crime. Why have concealed carry? Cause when YOU are the .1% it might matter.

Anti-carry is but one part of their overall safety plan,

The other statistic that emerged from a study of active killers is that they almost exclusively seek out "gun free" zones for their attacks

Banning concealed carry by law abiding citizens does not make places safer except for those who wish to do harm. This safety business is the stuff the Brady Campaign says why we shouldn't have concealed carry.

I also note that you are pushing SCCC.

I think we all might consider "pushing" that one.
 
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