Will There be Guns Galore on Colorado College Campuses?
The University of Colorado has threatened to punish professors who won’t hold classes if permit-holding students bring guns to classes.
The university is caught between a bullet and a hard place.
The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled students who have permits to carry concealed weapons can bring them on campus, with the exception of events where admission is charged. Football games and concerts would be examples.
A leading university professor announced Monday that he would halt any class in which he found a gun was present.
The University of Colorado published a statement on its Website today saying teachers would not be allowed to halt classes if they discover a student has brought a legal gun to class.
With the growing number of incidents in which several or more people have been killed by persons carrying legal guns, including an incident last month involving a CU student in Aurora, some students and teachers have expressed their concerns about letting guns on campus.
“I want to take this opportunity to clarify what concealed carry will mean for the campus, in light of recent media reports quoting BFA chair Jerry Peterson’s position that he will not teach any class if he becomes aware that a student is carrying a weapon. Safety and a classroom environment conducive to learning were clearly at the center of Professor Peterson’s comments, but it is important that those comments are not misconstrued with respect to what the rights and responsibilities of our faculty and staff are as they pertain to the recent Supreme Court ruling on the concealed carry permit issue,” said CU Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano.
“I have the utmost respect for Professor Peterson, who is an old friend and valued colleague, but I want to make clear that if the student carrying the weapon has a concealed carry permit, the position implied by Professor Peterson’s comments directly violates Colorado law and the operating principles of the campus. Faculty do not have the right to shut down a class or to refuse to teach merely because a student in that class is carrying a handgun under a concealed carry permit.”
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