Two weeks ago, the U’s gun policy made local headlines. Since then, gun discussion has died down between U officials and lawmakers, however, the U’s policy is gaining national media attention.
The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, ABC, CNN and NBC telephoned or visited the U last week.
Vice President for University Relations Fred Esplin spoke with half-a-dozen reporters after The New York Times published an article Friday.
In mid-January, the Administrative Rules Committee repealed gun control policies at all state offices and colleges.
Despite the ruling, U administrators remain steadfast, standing behind the policy which bans students, faculty and staff?but not visitors?from carrying weapons, concealed or otherwise, on campus.
During a radio interview on KCPW Thursday, Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Salt Lake, announced he plans to sue the colleges that refuse to yield to lawmakers’ decisions, and decrease the salaries of administrators who “attempt to defy the law” by keeping their policies.
“What we have is a difference in opinion, and the civil way to resolve that difference is in the courts?not threats in the media?but in court,” Esplin said.
The U’s policy prohibiting guns on campus came under fire when Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told lawmakers that the state Legislature alone had the right to create gun laws unless it gave that right to another entity.
Universities and colleges have not been given that right and are therefore breaking the law, Shurtleff said.
Lawmakers have yet to decide how they will resolve the difference in opinion.
“Legislators could pass a bill giving colleges and universities an exemption to the law,” Esplin said. “Or, they could pass a bill abolishing our policies. If that is the case, the U could pursue the matter in the courts.”
U General Counsel attorney John Morris insists the U’s policy is legal.
“I hate to see this debate during this legislative session,” said Jim Macfarlane, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “I’m pretty distressed to see the U get all bloodied by this deal when there is not a single private or public school in the state that wants guns on campus.”
MacFarlane said the Trustees support the U’s policy, but he said he fears the U would lose a court battle.
MacFarlane hopes the issue can be “ironed out” by a public vote on the ballot in November.
Maura Carabello, executive director of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, has gathered 35,000 of the 50,000 needed signatures to settle the gun battle by a public vote.
Esplin said gun advocates fear a public ballot because polls show that the majority of citizens do not feel that guns belong in the classroom setting.
Today, as well as in years past, if a student were to carry a firearm onto campus, he or she would not likely be prosecuted, Esplin said.
“The policy is not aimed at prosecuting violators. The issue is about safety?keeping the campus free of guns.”
Guns have the potential of interfering with classroom debate, he said. “We believe the classroom, the library, the cafeteria, are no place for firearms; so we ask our students and employees to leave their guns at home.”
When addressing the rules committee two weeks ago, U President Bernie Machen said, “The essence, indeed the very heart, of a college experience is the free exchange of ideas in a nurturing environment. Students who are being introduced to new concepts, who are grappling to understand new ideas, must feel they can openly express their views and question those ideas in a safe setting” without having “that debate diminished by concern over who has a gun in his backpack.”