Student stopped by police for openly carrying gun at Utah Valley University
From KSL Channel 5 in Utah.
A student confronted by police for openly carrying a gun at Utah Valley University says he's within his rights. Now advocates on both sides say his story points to a problem in Utah law.
The student posted on YouTube the confrontation he had with officers after they responded to a report of a man with a gun.
Steven Gunn of the Utah Gun Violence Prevention Center says it points to a problematic gap in Utah law that has not been addressed.
"I can't imagine what the reaction might be, well actually I can," he says, "of a student walking along the campus and seeing another student carrying a shotgun."
Gunn says Utah's gun laws are vague and don't clearly state whether open carry is legal. He says a bill clarifying that issue needs to be drafted.
The student told KSL he was not trying to make a fuss. He agreed to keep his gun concealed for now, but he doesn't feel he should have to.
Labels: ConcealedCarry, OpenCarry, schoolsecurity
posted by John Lott at 1:16 AM
2 Comments:
Automobiles kill more American youth than guns, by wide margin. Yet no one gets the heebie jeebies walking past a Prius. Why? The enduring myth in America is that the presence of a firearm on someone will result in spontaneous violence. Yet the evidence is quite the opposite.
http://www.utahconcealedcarry.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=7775&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
I did nothing wrong nor have I ever done anything wrong on that campus. I have contributed soooo much of my time and energy to make that school a better place.
There are hundreds, maybe even a thousand students or more, that legally carry concealed on that campus. They too know Utah law, it is taught in EVERY CFP class, but they choose to carry concealed. I think that's great. I don't care if they choose to carry concealed. I prefer open carry.
You have to be 21 to get a CFP in Utah. It's not as though we have 28,000 18-year old freshman carrying guns to school. I've been open carrying EVERYDAY for the last 6 months and it has not raised a single alarm. Why do you think that is???
What my open carrying at UVU has done though is this: It has allowed me to talked to easily 500+ students about Utah gun laws and it has helped dispel a ton of "gun-owner stereotypes" as well. That's how comfortable people are with me carrying a gun on campus--they are so comfortable that they feel like they can approach the guy that is carrying the gun, and talk to him about it. Even the student that called in simply asked the question "is he allowed to carry a gun on campus?"
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