Students, faculty respond to campus gun laws
Students were disappointed when feminist blogger and media critic Anita Sarkeesian cancelled her presentation, which was to be held during common hour on October 15. Her decision has caused Utah State University students and faculty to reevaluate campus gun policies and consider the delicate relationship between safety and freedom of speech.
The decision to cancel was made in response to a threatening email, sent to university officials the Monday before. Ultimately, Sarkeesian determined that the university’s safety measures were deficient. She tweeted, “To be clear: I didn’t cancel my USU talk because of terrorist threats, I canceled because I didn’t feel the security measures were adequate.”
Death threats are not uncommon for Sarkeesian, but she said, “This was the first time I had ever declined to do an event.” It was after she learned that — in accordance with Utah law — concealed weapons are permitted on campus that she cancelled her presentation.
For Tim Vitale, Executive Director of Public Relations and Marketing, safety and communication with students were the top priorities.
“Even after hearing that she had cancelled the event,” Vitale said. “We still were trying to communicate to students the level of threat.”
Professors Jen Peeples and Jennifer Sinor composed an open letter to President Stan Albrecht and professor Ann Austin of the Center for Women and Gender Studies. They attached a petition with over 200 signatures, including those of students, faculty, staff and community members.
“We’re hoping with a letter like that, that (Albrecht) can then use that letter and take it to the legislature and say, ‘Look. It’s four hours. Two hundred people signed this letter,” Sinor said. “It can be something he can use to help lobby the legislature and to create some gun-free legislation.”
The letter urged Albrecht to take the opportunity to make campus gun-free, thereby assuring our freedom of speech.
The letter read, “The relationship between the presence of guns and the freedom of speech is clear. … We fear that students may see the threat of violence or actual violence as a way to dictate what faculty say and do.”
Sinor argues that removing firearms from campus is not only legislatively achievable but necessary for student safety.
“All of this has been boiling up for about a year and a half. … By inviting Anita Sarkeesian to campus, USU unwittingly caught itself in the worst case scenario of internet drama to date,” said Brian Cook, a writing center tutor.
He was referring to Gamergate, a movement determined to ingrain sexism and misogyny in the gaming community. Cook said he wasn’t surprised when the email petition was forwarded to him.
One recipient of the forwarded email was Star Coulbrooke, director of the writing center.
“When the letter came out, I immediately jumped in and said, ‘Yes, I want my name on that.’ I really would like a gun-free campus, so that we can tell who the criminals are,” Coulbrooke said.
She argued that armed criminals can be as dangerous as armed vigilantes.
Graduate student Garrett Faylor was forwarded the email as well. He hopes that the letter and petition will bring more attention to the issue and that awareness will be promoted.
“I don’t know what I would want as far as gun laws, but I hope the motive behind the threat gets a lot more attention and publicity than the university or the actions they did or did not take,” Faylor said. “That to me is the real issue.”
“As a Utah public institution, we follow state law,” said Albrecht in a press release. “The Utah law provides that people who legally possess a concealed firearm permit are allowed to carry a firearm on public property, like the USU campus.”
Vitale agreed with Albrecht.
“That issue (of gun control on campus) has been settled in state law,” he said. “It was debated extensively when that law was implemented. It even then was appealed and went to the Utah Supreme Court. … It became law and it is the law of the land.”
Albrecht reemphasized the purpose of the university in his statement.
“While we will always prioritize the safety of our community, no threat changes Utah State University’s unwavering advocacy of academic freedom and free speech rights of everyone,” he said.
“I really would like a gun-free campus, so that we can tell who the criminals are.” Really?? Take away the guns from law-abiding citizens so we can tell who the bad guys are? How do you propose to recognize these ‘bad guys’? How do you plan to stop them once you recognize them? Perhaps the real danger is the complacency of a society that believes that personal security and welfare lies somewhere other than in the hands of each individual.
THANK YOU! Indy I agree with what you are saying I want to know why carrying a concealed is such a threat to those who want a gun-free campus? You don’t even know who carries. I think it could be said that perhaps They aren’t the criminals. they carry for Protection !!! Perhaps those ignorant about carrying, should look up the stats on how much crime does DOWN ! Most criminals can’t even get a concealed permit. You take away guns to law abiding citizens oh yea you will know who the criminals are… they are the ones at the top of a building mowing people down…. and about that time you wish you had someone protecting you but can’t because their rights were taken away because you don’t like guns.
There are over 800 veterans on campus who are legal concealed carry permit holder and choose to do so not only for personal protection but to protect those around them. “…so that we can tell who the criminals are.” Seriously? How dare Star Coulbrooke label the men and women who served in our armed forces, sacrificing not only their lives, but their youth, family life, and education to serve our nation as criminal. A woman in her position should know better than to make an unprofessional remark about men and women, regardless if they are a veteran or not, who are legally allowed to carry a concealed weapon on state property. The right to free speech is no different than the right to bear arms, infringing on one to satisfy a selfish opinion on the other is hypocritical as well as unconstitutional.
Wow I sure do like your comments and couldn’t agree more! My father, husband, and now a son are/were in the military. Thank you for defending our veterans. I walk up and shake every single one of their hands, look them in the eye and thank them.
With articles like this, we forget history; not only of our own nation, but countless nations around the world. In history we see countless times where a dictator will come in, take guns away, and then do as they will, (Hitler is a prime example, Mao is another. Hitler killed around 12 million; Mao killed over 50 million that we know of.)
The right to bear arms and protect ourselves is so important that the founding fathers explicitly put this as the second most important right, right behind the first amendment. In essence, the right to keep and bear arms protects our right to freedom of speech. If we look at the language of the Second Amendment it’s absolute art, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Notice that it doesn’t say that democrats / liberals can come in and take guns away just because they don’t understand, or want to understand, how guns make us safe.
In 2014 so far, the State of Utah has issued ~550,000 concealed permits. Studies show that as you increase responsible gun ownership, violent crime rate drops. In fact, if we look at the most violent areas of the USA, it’s always in places where gun rights are restricted.
Think about what happens in “gun-free zones.” First, the only people who obey are law-abiding citizens; criminals break laws. Secondly, people get hurt or die; gun-free zones are almost like magnet for evildoers. USA today published a very well written column titled: “Gun-free zones provide false sense of security” December 14, 2012.
There are too many examples of permit holders stopping crime for me to list them, even if we only look at the State of Utah.
Guns make us safe, guns are our rights, the State of Utah says I can protect myself on a college campus, and permit holders are good, law-abiding citizens. We protect everyone where we go.
“The relationship between guns and free speech is clear.”
Yes, it’s very clear.
In counties that do not permit individual firearm ownership, oppressive regimes rule, and censorship runs rampant.
Don’t like the law? Pack your bags and exercise your freedom. Get the hell out Utah. California welcomes you.
Exactly +Benson Munyan…
This is an interesting and true quote, “…God bless the second ammendment. When you have gun rights you have single mom’s successfully defending themselves against multiple home invaders, and older people fending off younger stronger, fitter thugs. What do you get when you have liberalism and gun control? You get Sandy Hook and 20 children with their brains blown out. You get 13 soldiers murdered by one of their own because they were defenseless. Liberalism is the cancerous and demonic ideology of the dimwitted, ill-informed, closed-minded and ungodly. To get people to accept it as intelligent thought requires the forceful suppression of facts, reality, logic, reasoning and morality because liberalism always FAILS : from FDR to Carter, Jamestown to Detroit, England’s healthcare system to Romneycare, the great society to the collapse of 2008, and from Ft Hood to Sandy Hook liberalism always fails…”
So, as a proud Alum of USU l would like to sign what ever petition is going around to not only allow concealed carry, but to increase access to it. I propose that concealed carry be offered as a class. I would much prefer to have that as opposed to Ultimate Frisbee, which I enjoyed. If there is such a petition going around, please send it to me at michaelwaynestewart@hotmail.com