March 28, 2024

Gun policy on USU Eastern’s campus

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This archived article was written by: Alex Anderson

Whenever I hear about a school shooting, I think “What if that happened at Eastern?” Then I remember that nothing happens in Price, so the likelihood is low. In reality, the gun laws in Utah are not that different than the gun laws in Parkland, Florida.
The fact is, any student, faculty or staff member with a concealed-firearm permit may have a firearm on them at any time on campus. Many lawmakers would argue that this should make me feel safer because they are “good guys with guns” on campus. Gun-free zones to a killer or someone who wants to be a killer, is like going in for the ice cream. That means no one has a gun except them,” Donald Trump said.
The “good guy with a gun” theory only works if the person holding the gun is an actual good person. The closest we can get to knowing if they are a decent person or not is with a background check, which federal law requires, but only for federally licensed firearm dealers. This means anyone on campus with a concealed firearm permit has had a background check.
In Utah, where hunting is a sport and target practice is a hobby, people have guns in their cars all the time because it’s always some type of hunting season.
Which leads to my next point, the people with rifles in the back seat of their cars may not have undergone a background check. For all we know, they got it for Christmas one year when they were 16 years old from their parent. Utah law permits this practice. Although they may not be technically on campus, they are close enough raise concern.
You might be wondering about where you sleep and if one of your roommates has a gun in your dorm without your knowledge. According to Lynn Archuleta, a campus police officer, when asked, “Can you have a gun in the dorms?,” he said, “Yes and No.”
If one has a valid concealed weapons permit, they can carry a concealable weapon in the dorm. One must let the roommates know about the concealable weapon. Rifles, bow and arrows, bladed weapons over a certain length are not allowed”.
So, if your roommate was a responsible and legally concealed arms carrier, you should know if there is a firearm in your dorm.
Archuleta says that in the years he’s been on campus, he has not known of any incidents involving a firearm. Also, campus police do have firearms on them when they are on duty on campus.
That makes me feel safer. It’s not a good guy with a gun, it’s a certified and amply trained person of the law whose job it is to protect the people on this campus.
I am from a city where there are security guards in every school, including elementary. Why can’t this be the norm? What is it about security guards that people don’t like? This way, students and faculty/ staff members can be protected, and schools can be gun free zones. The Second Amendment has it place, however, I don’t think that place is school.