Colorado universities offer gun storage to students ...

[spin]

By Monte Whaley, The Denver Post


BOULDER — Nearly every college and university in the state bars students from having weapons on campus.

But at Colorado's three largest institutions of higher learning, there are large caches of student-owned weaponry that would be the envy of many police departments.

"We have quite a variety on hand," said Wendy Rich-Goldschmidt, police chief at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the last university system that still allows concealed weapons on its campuses.

On any given day, there may be up to 50 rifles with scopes, shotguns, handguns and long knives stored at CSU, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Stashed alongside are ninja swords, paintball guns and an occasional martial-arts nunchuck or crossbow.

They are secured in lockers deep inside campus police departments where they are monitored 24 hours a day.

Students with proper identification, a clear background check and a claim tag can take them out any time.

Most of the shotguns and rifles are used for hunting getaways on weekends or on holiday breaks, say officials.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14039648#ixzz0c8tVIObW

[rd_kent]

1. Common sense in action.....

[Robb]

2. Sensible practice. nt

[theoldman]

3. When I went to the University of Texas guns were stored in the dorm rooms.

I lived off campus and kept a rifle in my two room apartment. This was before the sniper killed several people from a tall tower on the campus.

[TheWraith]

5. I would think crime is less an issue than theft, in this situation.

Dorms aren't the most secure area in the world.

[SteveM]

43. When I was in grad school at UT in 1970, I asked the campus police...

if it was legal to keep guns in dorm rooms, and they seemed puzzled that I asked the question: "of course."

I ended up staying in a cheaper efficiency apt. off campus.

[TheWraith]

4. Good call.

Security problems are inherent in a college campus, so anything valuable or dangerous should be secured, and this is a good system that doesn't restrict the students too much.

It's good also that they allow for concealed carry--with drunken frat boys running around, a lot of college girls might be well served by having something for personal protection.

[aikoaiko]

6. This is a great option for students.

When I was undergrad in AZ, we did a gun count on our dorm room floor. There were 132 firearms on our floor alone. The dorm has 8 floors.

[bossy22]

7. my school had the same thing

[baldguy]

8. What's the point of having a gun if you can't carry it around for "protection".

:sarcasm:

[Euromutt]

9. Erm, hunting? Clay pigeon shooting? Target practice?

Personally, I don't know of too many people looking to haul an over/under shotgun or a bolt-action deer rifle around with them full-time. Does that mean there's no point to having one?

Or did you mistake the "sarcasm" tag for the "straw man" tag again?

[baldguy]

10. The Gawd-given Right To Keep & Bear Arms is *NOT* about hunting!

It's about individuals defending themselves against the govt! AND HERE'S A GOVT AGENCY TAKING GUNS AWAY!

WHY AREN'T MORE PEOPLE OUTRAGED BY THIS!!!!????

And in Colorado no less!!

:sarcasm:

[AtheistCrusader]

11. I'm pretty sure concealed carry on campus is legal in that state.

So, they probably ARE carrying around their firearms as appropriate.

Oh wait, you were being sarcastic.

[Katya Mullethov]

12. Trying is more apt

I know sarcasm when I see it . And that was more akin to a fish hoping to find its way off the dock .

[baldguy]

14. CU does not permit weapons on campus. Period.

You don't seem to understand how Google works.

http://www.colorado.edu/ralphie/tag/guns/index.html

[AtheistCrusader]

16. That would be funny if you were right.

SECTION 5. 18-12-105.5(3)(d), Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
17 18-12-105.5. Unlawfully carrying a weapon - unlawful
18 possession of weapons - school, college, or university grounds. (3) It
19 shall not be an offense under this section if:
20 (d) The person, AT the time of carrying a concealed
21 weapon, HELD A VALID written permit TO CARRY A
22 CONCEALED WEAPON ISSUED pursuant to section 18-12-105.1,
23 AS IT EXISTED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1999, OR, IF THE WEAPON
25 INVOLVED WAS A HANDGUN, HELD A VALID PERMIT TO CARRY A
26 CONCEALED HANDGUN ISSUED PURSUANT TO PART 2 OF THIS ARTICLE; or



What part of 'shall not be an offense' did Google miss for you there?

Edit: Apparently the board of reagents voted to ban it on the 8th of December, 2009, but the State Law has not yet been updated to reflect it. So it's technically probably not illegal until later this month.

[baldguy]

18. There's a difference between a violation of the law and a violation of school policy.

The police don't care, but the school will still expel you.

[AtheistCrusader]

21. Note, I said concealed carry is 'legal'

not... 'allowed' or somesuch.

[gorfle]

25. Isn't it funny.

Isn't it funny that non-students can carry concealed on campus but the actual students cannot? Why the disparity?

[eqfan592]

27. Me thinks that the schools attempt at creating this disparity....

...will not last very long. It was a stupid and unpopular move on the schools part, and did little but draw them a large amount of negative attention.

[struggle4progress]

49. Many college students still exhibit adolescent personality traits and are often immature. Nobody

sane is enthusiastic about handing back graded tests to armed adolescents

[PavePusher]

50. Happens all the time in the military.

Despite a singular recent incident, we aren't known for frequent murderous rampages.

[struggle4progress]

52. Students in military institutions typically come to class armed? Really?

[PavePusher]

53. I was refering to your "handing back test grades to armed adolescents" comment.

Although I don't know why you seem to be claiming that 18-20 year-olds are "adolescents".

And yes, military trainees are frequently armed when receiving evaluation/testing scoring and feedback.

[virginia mountainman]

36. I wonder...

How they would expel someone who was NOT a student... LOL....

They can be collage sanctions, but not legal ones...

[proteus_lives]

13. Grabber fail.

:rofl:

[baldguy]

15. I'm not a "grabber".

And every one of those arguments have been used by people in this very forum who oppose registration of firearms & licensing of gun owners.

Gun-worshiper fail.

[aikoaiko]

17. Its a step in the right direction.

That's why pro-rkba types like me are supportive.

[baldguy]

19. Of course it's a good idea.

But it also means that you don't think the so-called "RKBA" applies to adults who happen to be college students.

[aikoaiko]

20. The right to keep and bear arms does apply to them & they'll realize those rights sooner or later.

Right now the law allow the univ to decide how to handle it if I recall correctly. I think most of the Colorado schools do no permit any guns but this school does if they are locked up. So I see this as step in the right direction for the RKBA arms for these college students.

[taurus145]

22. registration of firearms & licensing of gun owners.

What part of "shall not be infringed" don't you understand?

[oneshooter]

24. Not yet, but you are headed that way. n/t

[eqfan592]

26. Wtf???

So because the 2nd amendment isn't about hunting and sport shooting, that means people wouldn't want to own firearms for those purposes? Seriously, baldguy, this is a new level of "wtf" from you. Congrats on lowering the bar even further.

[Euromutt]

45. Who says the RKBA has to apply to every gun, all the time?

I have guns that reside full-time in my gun safe, barring range trips; they are not practical for defensive use, but since they are nevertheless capable of inflicting lethal damage, I keep them secured. If there are Colorado U. students who own firearms for purely recreational, non-defensive purposes, I have no issue with the campus cops providing secure storage for such weapons when they are not in use.

Here's a word of advice: satire is most effective if you correctly understand that which you are attempting to satirize.

[taurus145]

23. When I was in high school

we often stored our shotguns, game bags/vests, and shells in the principal's office during the school day.

Ir was not uncommon for the principal and several teachers to go hunting with us after school.

[yodoobo]

28. This is a great model for communities

I'd love to see a model where folks keep their guns at designated armories in their town or city, and then be free to check them out as needed for hunting or target shooting.

It keeps guns off the street by securing from theft, keeps them away from children who might find them in the house, and it puts a lid on "crimes of passion" with a built in cooling off period where someone has to go an retrieve their gun.

Its a great compromise really. Its respects the 2nd amendment, but also is good solid gun control.

[eqfan592]

29. Such a plan would not respect the 2nd amendment.

You'd be removing one of the primary purposes of firearm ownership, which is personal protection at your home and on your person. Now if such a system were optional, that would be a difference story, but a mandatory system such as this would not be acceptable.

[hack89]

30. Like pharmacies keep drugs off our streets?

Criminals will always have guns - I don't see how your idea solves that problem.

[rd_kent]

33. Enacting your plan would be "infringement" and specifically prohibited by the Constitution.

you know, the part about "shall not be infringed"........

[bossy22]

34. it would run counter to the supreme courts holding in DC V Heller

Which held that the 2A protected a right to a handgun for self defense within the home. I think such a law would be thrown out before you knew it

[PavePusher]

41. You seem to have overlooked a phrase in the 2nd.

"...keep AND BEAR..."

[SteveM]

44. Umm, not really...

What you are advocating is a government-sponsored plan to keep guns out of the household and to usurp the right to self-defense, if using a gun. In other words, this will NOT keep "guns off the street," only out of the homes of citizens.

Such a measure would not "respect the 2nd Amendment," as it clearly prevents one from both "keeping" and from "bearing arms." Yours would be a government-sponsored loaner program, only one in which a citizen must purchase a firearm (in order for it to be loaned out again).

You do know, of course, prohibition has never kept the unlawful/crims/thugs from acquiring the object/substance they wish. And you know, of course, that such a plan would deeply "infringe" on the rights of the people as referenced in the Second Amendment.

[Jkid]

31. Good call.

It would be a good idea if this practice expands to every police station in the country. If a gun owner does not have a proper secure storage, he should be required to store the gun inside the station.

[friendly_iconoclast]

32. Why?

n/t

[bossy22]

35. police stations aren't fort knox-ish

many things go missing/stolen from them. Its just like any high-traffic building.

[virginia mountainman]

37. How about Books?? Should we be required to store them at a library??

[oneshooter]

38. Then you would agree to storing the most dangerous item with the police.

Surly the common automobile should be stored in that manner. Securely locked at the Police Station. With a requirement to show a need to remove it from storage, and a Breathalyzer test before it is released to you, and one when it is returned.

After all, owning and operating an automobile is a privilege. not a constitutional right.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

[taurus145]

39. What's your answer to rural dwellers?

It's 18 miles to the nearest sheriff's office from my home. I have lived where it was about 100 miles to the nearest law enforcement office. There are areas in the U.S. where the distance is far greater.

Do I make a 45 minute round trip when coyotes are attacking my pets or livestock? "Wait, Mr. Coyote! Sit! Good boy! Now stay there for an hour so I can save my income/food from you."

I don't agree with your "solution" but I'd love to hear your answer.

[taurus145]

48. I hear nothing but crickets...

[PavePusher]

51. That's the side-benefit to being your own protection!!

:evilgrin:

[OttavaKarhu]

40. Thanks for the laugh.

I want some of what you're smoking.

[PavePusher]

42. Cmdr McGraw needs too have the concept of the "need" canard explained to him.

"I really don't know why anyone would own a ninja sword," said Cmdr. Tim McGraw of the University of Colorado Police Department. "But it's probably not a good thing to have in a dorm."



Sir, it is not your place (or anyones') to determine what I do or don't "need", or where I will "need" it.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

46. I disagree here.

The school should have discretion if guns (or blades/knives) are or are not allowed in school-owned dormatories. If a student wishes to have firearms, they should either live in non school-owned housing or attend a university that allows the safe storage of firearms in dormatories.

I would also contend that university owned APARTMENT buildings should allow access/means of defense to residents.

My position is rooted in the differences between a dormatory and an apartment. Dormatories are, on the whole, a very unsecure conglomerate of bedrooms whereas apartments are generally more like permanent residences.

[PavePusher]

47. If it was a privately owned/run University, I would agree with you.

But we are talking about a state institution.

Also, it is not difficult (just costly) to provide some secure storage in a dorm room.