Faculty Council opposes concealed carry on campus

The meeting also covered a proposal by the Office of Disability Services.

By Angela Case

Published April 23, 2009

The Faculty Council met Thursday to discuss several issues, including a House bill that would allow concealed carry on campus at public universities.

The council unanimously voted in support of the statement UM system President Gary Forsee made in opposition to the provisions of the bill that involved college campuses.

The council's motion originally included a statement opposing changing the minimum age for conceal and carry permits from 23 to 21 years old, but the unanimously voted to remove the line to put the focus on the item regarding college campuses.

While all the council members were in agreement about the ban on concealed carry, their views differed in regard to the lowering of the minimum age. Veterinary professor Leona Rubin said she is not opposed to the age change because 21-year-olds are legally considered adults.

Frank Schmidt, who proposed the council's concealed carry resolution, said the minimum age should not be lowered.

"I know what I was like when I was 22," Schmidt said. "Personally, I think 23 is much more prudent than 21."

Rubin said allowing concealed carry would create a general sense of unease in the classroom, particularly for professors and faculty members, who are often the targets of gun crimes on college campuses.

Schmidt said he opposed the concealed carry measure partially because it would take away a right of the university.

"In the bill that exists now, institutions of higher learning, government offices, churches and various other places have the ability to ban concealed weapons," Schmidt said. "What this bill does is take away a right that the university has had."

Schmidt said some supporters of the bill believe banning concealed carry is a violation of their personal rights.

"Some people believe it is their Second Amendment right to carry a gun on campus, but there are some places where a constitutional right is circumscribed by circumstances," Schmidt said. "For example, we have free speech, but you can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater. Circumstances do alter rights, and this is a case where the circumstances outweigh the constitutional right."

Additionally, Schmidt said allowing concealed carry would compromise student safety.

"The public health literature shows that no matter what the circumstance, more guns around mean more gun deaths, from whatever cause: suicide, homicide or accident," Schmidt said. "There is no evidence that concealed carry laws help or prevent violent crime."

The council also discussed the Office of Disability Services' proposal that students with a documented disability be allowed to carry only nine credit hours and still be considered full-time, as opposed to the current minimum of 12 hours.

"It's simply a matter of allowing these students who have special challenges to participate in certain things on campus that require full-time status," said David Trinklein, chairman of the academic affairs committee, who introduced the proposal at the meeting.

Trinklein said the university would most likely not see a decrease in credit hour enrollment if the measure were passed.

"It's simply a matter of taking those who are taking only nine hours and essentially assigning them full-time status," Trinklein said. "I don't think many students take three more hours just to be considered full-time when they're not physically or academically prepared to do that."

Trinklein said the Registrar's Office and the director of Student Financial Aid have both approved the plan.

The proposal will be voted on at the council's next meeting May 7.