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In light of the kerfuffle surrounding concealed carry, the University of Colorado has posted a page on their website: 14 Basic Questions on concealed carry at CU-Boulder. Most of it is, indeed, basic. Have a permit, don’t brandish, return your tray tables to their original upright and locked position, that sort of thing. And then there’s the bit where CU addresses the question from the perspective of an employee, one of whom (Professor Jerry Peterson) said he’d turf any student who dared carry in his class. “Can a student who legally possesses a concealed handgun be excluded from the classroom on the grounds that the student’s presence and his or her concealed weapon constitutes a class disruption?” Just in case you missed it yesterday . . .

No. The mere act of carrying a handgun (with a concealed carry permit as authorized by law) is not in and of itself a disruption of class activity. Concealed carry permit holders should not be excluded from class under any supposition that their presence alone is a “disruption.” Another person’s adverse reaction to someone carrying a handgun in accordance with the concealed carry act is not grounds to eject the permit-holder from the classroom.

Clear? If not the University has made it clearerer [sic]:

Q | Can faculty ask a student who holds a concealed carry permit to report that status to them?

While faculty can ask a student who has a concealed carry weapon permit to report that status to them, or place in a course syllabus the request that students report this status to them, students are not required to provide this information to any faculty member. Any voluntary reporting of concealed carry permit status by a student to a faculty member should be done privately. Faculty should not, under any circumstances, coerce students into complying with their requests or pressure them to answer concealed carry queries.

If you wish to place something related to this in your course syllabus, below is some suggested language:

“Concealed carry of firearms is permitted under Colorado law if you have a concealed carry permit. I would appreciate it if you would let me know this privately during the first week of class. You have my assurance that your concealed carry status will be kept confidential, and it will in no way affect your grade or evaluation as a student. I recognize you are under no obligation to supply me with this information.”

What are the odds that Professor Peterson will add that bit to his syllabus?

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25 COMMENTS

  1. I see no upside in volunteering this information. First, you’re trusting in their ethics that it really won’t affect your grade or evaluation. Second, if God forbid something happens and I choose to exercise discretion or just escape, I don’t want someone looking at me and saying, “For God’s sake, do something!” Or, for that matter, asking me after the fact why I didn’t.

    • or there’s somebody menacing the class with a gun already drawn and the students turn to you and demand you do something. your weapon is secure in it’s holster and he’s now squeezing the trigger on you.

  2. Lads, we live in fine times for the 2A. This is what winning looks like. We aren’t done, and perhaps will never be, but it pays to stop after a report like this and appreciate that good arguments, science, and patience are paying off. My thanks to all the organizations whose political pressure and legal expertise have made advances like this possible.

  3. “You have my assurance…that your concealed carry status will be kept confidential, and it will in no way affect your grade or evaluation as a student.”

    Yeah, right…as that Peterson tool proved, being a college professor does not mean that one isn’t a child-minded bully. I wouldn’t put it past most of them to exercise a little “political activism” with the grades of students who dare have differing opinions of such matters as 2A.

    • “You have my assurance …”

      And if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you. And can we discuss the higher meaning of the Easter Bunny?

      And I bet the CU administration absolutely choked when they had to add the following to their little policy statement: “Be advised that the campus is obliged to follow this law to the letter and is not at liberty to enact policies or provisions that violate it.”

  4. Incredibly, the Q&A says that “semi-automatic weapons” are not permitted. I guess you can only concealed carry a wheel gun???

    • Remember, to those that haven’t a clue, the semi part of semi auto is just the part where an operator must manipulate the inanimate object. The second half of the word, automatic, is how the gun fires.

    • I wouldn’t give them too much credit. They fought this tooth and nail in the courts after a state law was passed authorizing CCW on campus. Only when they were completely defeated did responses like this come up. I’d put serious odds that the administrators who wrote that policy were grinding their teeth the whole time.

  5. After dealing with the CU Boulder and CU Denver websites in high school, I’m far too traumatized to ever actually go to either one. I’m attending UCCS (University of Colorado-Colorado Springs) soon, and seeing as I will be elligible to carry for a year or so, I’m following all this closely. Still, it doesn’t really apply to me as I will not be living on campus, and I’m pretty sure I can keep my gun concealed for the hours I’m there.

  6. I’m pretty sure I’ll never have to worry about this in my college classroom here in the land of the bean and the cod, but if I did I’d like to know where my CCWs are so that we could set up a field of fire and reduce the possibility of crossfire and friendly casualties.

    Of course, it would also mean that I’d be legal to carry, too–which would be a good thing!

  7. Why trust the integrity of a teacher who might be an anti-gun grabber not to mess with your grade or tell other teaching colleagues? It is also possible that an intuitive student might pick up on a teacher’s non-verbal behavior towards you as being different especially when it comes around to discussing gun issues. Beware the gossiping grapevine.

    Silence is Strength
    -Ovid

  8. If it were my class, and I do teach a college level course by the way, I would put that in my syllabus for two reasons: to know what I had to work with in a shtf scenario, and so I could dole out some accolades and extra credit 😀 Unfortunately, it is still illegal in OK to carry on campus.

  9. Wow what an awesome response from the school. Great precedent. I especially like the part that says just because a fellow classmate freaks out about you carrying, that is still not grounds for ejection from class.

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