Colorado Attorney Lawyer

If a gunman were to burst into a classroom at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with murder on his mind, one group of students wants a chance to shoot back.

But packing heat to class, even with a concealed carry permit, is prohibited by CU policy and cause for expulsion.

Now about a dozen UCCS students have joined a national and fast-growing group, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, whose goal is to lobby legislators and school administrators to allow their handguns in class.

“I carry because I’m a former Boy Scout and the motto is always be prepared,” said John Davis, 30, a senior UCCS who organized the local effort.

Both Colorado College and Pikes Peak Community College and ban guns regardless of permits, but those students at campuses have not objected to the policies, according to the schools.

“From my perspective, I am certainly advocate for people’s Second Amendment rights,” said CU Regent Kyle Hybl, R-Colorado Springs. “I also think the issue of concealed carry on campus is one that needs to be looked at internally to see what’s in the best interest of the campus.”

UCCS Students at CU-Boulder and plan to participate in a nationwide protest 22-25 April in which they will wear holsters empty “corner to show basically defenseless when we come to school,” said Davis. His group will use the event to educate students about other concealed carry permits. Students will also collect signatures on a petition that will be presented to the Board of Regents CU advocating a change in its policy gun.

Davis and other members of the armed group believe in being an incident like Virginia Tech Columbine High School or could save lives. The guns are concealed, he said, and having one in a classroom is no different than in a restaurant or movie theater. His parents and other family members carry concealed weapons.

But the CU policy came about because “there is a strong belief that having guns in classrooms is not conducive to an open environment or a learning environment,” said UCCS spokesman Tom Hutton.

“There’s an appropriate place for guns, and the classroom is not an appropriate place,” said Hutton. Students with concealed carry permits are allowed to store their guns at the police station or campus to them in their cars, he said.

A state law passed in 2003 allows concealed weapons to be carried in most parts of Colorado.

That same year, the Board of Regents of sought its opinion on weapons policy from the Attorney General’s Office. Then-Attorney General Ken Salazar said the Colorado Constitution Regents gave authorization to regulate their internal affairs and there was no conflict in saying no to guns.

Davis said his group is talking to students at CU-Boulder and other campuses, including PPCC, about an effort to get state lawmakers to limit the Regent’s authority on the matter. Colorado State University allows people with concealed carry permits to bring their guns to class, according to the national Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Web site.

The group claims on its Web site concealedcarry.org to have recruited 25000 members in the last year, mostly college students. It says it is not affiliated with the National Rifle Association or any political groups.

In determining its mission, the group says: “The first step is to see ‘colleges’ removed from the lists of places listed as” off limits “by the concealed carry laws in many states. The next step is to see other states follow Utah’s Prohibiting lead in state (tax subsidized) colleges from enacting their own bans concealed carry on. ”

Supporters of allowing concealed handguns on campus are quick to point out the background checks and training required to obtain a permit, and they claim that concealed carry permits have not led to more violence among those people.