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Mark Shurtleff has an incredible amount of guts and courage,? says Janalee Tobias, a local gun-rights activist. ?Peace comes through strength. When you tell criminals where guns are not allowed, where do you think they are going to start raping, robbing and harming people? They are going to prey on the places that are going to offer the least amount of resistance?gun-free zones.?

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He?s part of a conscious student body, Tobias says. ?If you don?t have a big strong coed walking around with you to protect you on these campuses no matter where you go to school, it?s scary. If the criminals at least think that one of those students just might fight back and teach them some manners, they may think twice about attacking them. The students understand this better than their hippie professors.?

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Campus Arms Race
by Scott Lewis
City Beat December 13, 2001

Sometimes professors at the University of Utah will stop talking. Granted, it only happens sometimes. But when they do, they usually expect the students in the class to engage in some type of vigorous and intellectually stimulating debate. Depending on the issue, the discussions can blossom into an exciting experience of mutual understanding and insightful illumination or they can degenerate into egocentric ramblings and hurtful insinuations. Whether the in-class debates end in a productive or detrimental way, initially they tend to be quite contentious. And the conflict can breed anger, enlightenment or it can simply breed. What the teachers desire more than anything is frank discourse. They want students to challenge each other.

Imagine how that might change if a student knew that the person with whom he or she was arguing carried a concealed .45 magnum. That must be why concealed weapons permit carriers actually conceal their weapons. It could definitely be a conversation pooper.

Regardless of the effects it may have on the discussions in his political science classes on campus, Jason Clark wants very much to carry his weapon on campus. And it looks like the university may no longer be in any kind of position to tell him not to. An opinion recently released by Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has given Clark a rather pleasant surprise. If the attorney general is correct, it shouldn?t be too long before Clark can pack his heat into the classroom. The university?s rule prohibiting concealed-weapons permit holders from ?carrying? on campus is illegal, according to Shurtleff?s interpretation of Utah law. As such, it may not be enforceable.

?Our opinion at this point is that the regulation that the U has in place that prohibits concealed weapons on campus is in violation of the state statute,? said Kirk Torgensen, the chief deputy at the Attorney General?s Office. ?It is very clear under the statute that unless the Legislature specifically authorized an organization to regulate firearms, they are prohibited from doing so. There is no exception for the university.?

You can take the university out of the Old West, but you can?t take the Old West out of the university. Clark says he is excited about the attorney general?s decision?there?s just no way to feel safe on campus without his gun, he says. ?No matter how competent a police force is, you?ll always have to wait for it to arrive. They?ll show up after you?ve been attacked and take a report from you. But by then, you?re already a victim.?

Clark says he won?t carry his weapon on campus while the ban is still in place because he worries about punishments from the U?s administration. But he says if someone attacked him while he walked around campus unarmed, he thinks it would clearly be the university?s fault. He?s instructed his family to file legal complaints in the event something like that happens.

?It?s the reality of security today,? Clark said. ?The only way a person could be safe in a perfect world if they didn?t carry a weapon was if they had someone armed that would follow them around all day long. The attorney general?s opinion should really stir things up.?

It has. Although the U has maintained that concealed weapons are only allowed under certain very specific circumstances, no one has ever really challenged the rule. If they did, it may not hold up. And that is the dilemma that has gotten so many people?s attention.

?Mark Shurtleff has an incredible amount of guts and courage,? says Janalee Tobias, a local gun-rights activist. ?Peace comes through strength. When you tell criminals where guns are not allowed, where do you think they are going to start raping, robbing and harming people? They are going to prey on the places that are going to offer the least amount of resistance?gun-free zones.?

But Shurtleff?s opinion is just that?an opinion. It is the very same opinion that precipitated Gov. Mike Leavitt?s ruling in November that eliminated a prohibition against state employees packing heat. Now state employees with concealed weapons permits can legally carry their guns to work. If it was compelling enough to force Leavitt to end that prohibition, the state?s nine institutions of higher education may have to follow suit?or face the possibility that stubborn gunslingers will challenge their rules in court. Under Utah law, they would probably have a good chance of winning. For now, the U has decided to leave its rules alone.

?The campus isn?t a place for guns,? said Fred Esplin, the university?s vice president for public relations. ?It?s good public policy and we?re sticking with it.?

In March 2000, the university?s Academic Senate?a governing body of faculty and student representatives?voted overwhelmingly to enact a resolution supporting the ?Safe to Learn, Safe to Worship? initiative that would ban guns at all churches and schools in the state. The initiative didn?t get enough petition signatures to force a statewide vote. The broad coalition that organized the initiative drive in 2000 has now planned to go after it again for the 2002 ballot. It would give the university the legal muscle it needs to prohibit concealed weapons on campus and the petitioners say the ?Safe to Learn, Safe to Worship? law is only logical.

?Campuses and churches are environments where people should feel safe,? said Maura Carabello, the director of the nonprofit Utahns Against Gun Violence. ?If someone is carrying a gun next to you, you are not going to feel safe. To get your concealed weapons permit, you pay a fee and show up for a class. There are some excellent classes but there are others that the people just sleep through. Afterwards, you don?t even have to pass any kind of test. I hope the Legislature and the governor will respect an individual institution?s right to make their own decision as to whether or not they will allow concealed weapons where they work and study.?

Clark, for his part, can?t understand the logic behind someone who is uncomfortable with him carrying a concealed weapon around campus. He looks forward to the chance to pack heat soon. The junior is married with three kids. He says he?s not going to let himself be a ?victim.?

He?s part of a conscious student body, Tobias says. ?If you don?t have a big strong coed walking around with you to protect you on these campuses no matter where you go to school, it?s scary. If the criminals at least think that one of those students just might fight back and teach them some manners, they may think twice about attacking them. The students understand this better than their hippie professors.?