Kutztown University has changed weapons policy

[rmagill]

Those are compelling reasons for a commuter student to be able to carry a gun in to campus buildings? I'm all about preserving and defending our rights but as a parent, that would scare me.

"the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" and

'The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned."

Seem to be compelling enough reasons to allow college students to carry a firearm on campus.

[stainless]

Hi folks.

Big changes at Ring Bologna State. I just caught wind about a policy change at the university, allowing for students, faculty and staff who are duly licensed to carry concealed if they can show "compelling reasons" to do so.

My question to you...

Why the change? Did it have anything to do with the seminar that was cancelled? I don't remember if you were the OP on that thread, but would guess you know to what I refer.

[ungawa]

Tell them you are being threatened by an unknown person.

Tell them it's ^Him haha

[PAMedic=F|A=]

Those are compelling reasons for a commuter student to be able to carry a gun in to campus buildings? I'm all about preserving and defending our rights but as a parent, that would scare me.

At a State University, how many of the Students are in the military? How many have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. I think you'd be surprised at the numbers - Pennsylvania has (arguably) the largest National Guard Presence in the country - We've got the only Full Division - which is larger then most. That does not count the ones who are State Guardsmen (Pony Patch) but not part of the 28th Division (Bloody,Bucket) or those that are part of the STARC (Lucky Charms) and we're 23 for population, so I suspect we're highest per capita based on population. That does not count the Air Guardsmen, the Army Reserve, or Veterans from all branches.


Additionally, Schools are Known Soft Targets for both Domestic and International Terrorism. I'll bet you could not find a State Campus without international Moslem students. Domestically I'll also bet you could not find a Campus without a Neo-Nazi/white power and/or Black power movement.

I was Just at the School safety Seminar at Penn State put on by the Pennsylvania State Police and the PA Dept. of Homeland Security. They (and the FBI) are extremely aware of these dangers. They are also acutely aware that schools, from Elementary to College, are targeted because there are large populations of people untrained to deal with emergencies, and also completely unarmed.

Most active shooter incidents are over in less than 3 minutes - and I can promise you it generally takes about 3 minutes for a 911 center to dispatch a call - and are over well before police can intervene.

Many colleges are in or near gettos. To date the only officer shot in Williamsport was a Penn College officer (Pennsylvania College of Technology - Penn State School)

Commuter students should be armed, to protect themselves en route to campus. All Adults (and most students are adults) should be armed to protect themselves and others.
As a parent, I'm more concerned about my son being defenseless. The world is an extremely dangerous place, and pretending otherwise does not change that.

[9orangeletters]

My question to you...

Why the change? Did it have anything to do with the seminar that was cancelled? I don't remember if you were the OP on that thread, but would guess you know to what I refer.

I was. I don't know. It honestly was a surprise to me that the change happened in the first place. I didn't know about it until another student brought it to my attention.

I've already contacted the usual suspects when it comes to firearms legislation. Anybody else is more than welcome to chime in some information or advice. Looking to hit the "compelling reasons" head on with some references to Warren v. D.C., among other things.

[9orangeletters]

Oh brother.

Facebook is blowing up. There's been interviews. Quite the interesting Thursday afternoon.

[9orangeletters]

Sorry guys about spamming the thread, but this interesting little tidbit came across the Facebook page:

Hi, Chris Cato here with NBC10. I did a story on the policy change tonight. After speaking with KU Director of University Relations Matt Santos, I believe there is misinformation in other media reports. Many of the reports state the policy will allow guns on campus WITH PERMISSION FROM POLICE. That is not the case. Section B of the revised policy states police permission is only needed for CONCEALED weapons. Pennsylvania is an "Open Carry" state (outside of Philadelphia). State universities including KU have been advised to modify their policies to reflect this. Which is why KU is now allowing "open carry" on campus. Bottom line: no police permission needed to openly carry guns on campus outside of buildings and athletic events.

This is a very interesting perspective. Reading the policy, here is section B:

B. Scope
This policy applies to all persons who are enrolled, employed by, visiting, or providing
services to Kutztown University. This policy applies equally to those persons who have a
government issued license to carry a concealed firearm. Any university employee or
student having such a license and wishing to carry their weapon on university property
for compelling reasons related to their personal safety must request an exception to this
policy by contacting the University Chief of Police. Such requests will be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis. This policy does not apply to:
1. Commissioned officers of the Kutztown University Police Dept.
2. Duly appointed law enforcement officers conducting official business
3. Members of the United States Armed Forces when in uniform and conducting
official business
4. Agents of contractors conducting related official business

On the surface, this appears to be correct.

[ungawa]

They are stalling. They know that from a practical standpoint this won't change much as almost nobody will be carrying firearms and absolutely nobody will be carrying firearms in buildings or at events. Which will keep the people that they otherwise say might be allowed to carry firearms (the special few CC or the OC if true) to refrain from it because there is no reason to.

They are trying to push the issue off and hope it goes away.

JMHO. I have no info other than what's in this thread.

[anonymouse]

http://www.kutztown.edu/about/presid...rs/050913.aspx

Message from President Cevallos regarding university weapons policy

May 9, 2013

Dear KU Campus Community,

I want to provide you with a brief update regarding our university weapons policy.

Within the past year, the Pennsylvania Office of General Counsel advised the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) that a blanket prohibition against the possession of weapons on campus is legally unenforceable. As a result, the presidents of the 14 PASSHE institutions were advised by PASSHE’s legal team to review current weapons policies to ensure that they are defensible in a court of law.

Our revised policy has been written to prohibit weapons, including legally registered firearms, in academic buildings, administrative buildings, student residence halls (both university owned or leased), dining facilities, student union buildings, athletic facilities, recreation centers, or while attending a sporting, entertainment or educational event on university property or sponsored by the university.

Under the revised policy, the carrying of firearms will be permitted in open areas of campus by those persons who have a government issued license. Any requests for further exceptions must have the approval of the university chief of police. While I am cognizant of the concerns associated with this change, as a state institution we must follow the advice of legal counsel and do what is necessary to comply with the Second Amendment.

I can assure you that we have done everything to implement the strongest policy possible, while staying in compliance with constitutional rights.

We will be working to establish procedures related to these changes in the months ahead. A complete copy of the policy is below.

http://www.kutztown.edu/admin/AdminS...fs/A&F-030.pdf

Sincerely,

F. Javier Cevallos,
President

Nice to see that PASSHE is making changes.

[PennsyPlinker]

http://www.kutztown.edu/about/presid...rs/050913.aspx




Nice to see that PASSHE is making changes.

On the surface it looks like that, but is it really? It looks to me like they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Here is my paraphrase of how I understand the new policy. If I am wrong, someone is free to correct me.

"Kutztown University now has a new policy where we will not restrict the carry of self defense weapons on our campus property. However, we continue to restrict the carry of said weapons in buildings or to events. What that means is that 99% or more of the people coming here STILL can't carry a gun without breaking our rules. So there."