Today's Letter to the SL Trib regarding SB48

March 2, 2004

Dear Editor,

In your editorial “Walker should veto SB48…” you give several justifications for why the Board of Regents should be in charge of deciding whether or not guns are allowed on campus. During all of this, you fail to meet two important points: Utah Law and Constitutional protections.

The Utah law on concealed carry specifically prohibits government-owned operations from disallowing concealed carry on their premises unless those operations have clear security measures and reasons against allowing CCW. Courts, jails, and other obvious, highly-secure areas are these exceptions.

By their refusal to abide by this, the University of Utah is breaking Utah law and therefore should suffer the consequences of doing so. However penance is made, reversal of this unlawful gun ban on their campus.

Further, the Utah State Constitution and the United States Constitution both have a “right to keep and bear arms” protection within them, which protects citizens’ rights to keep and bear arms for protection of self, state, and nation. Gun owners and libertarians take this right very seriously; as seriously as your newspaper, takes your right to free speech.

If college campuses are to be “free of intimidation,” should we also not allow “controversial” speech (which is intimidating), persons larger than a specified size (big people are intimidating), famous people (celebrities are intimidating), etc. on campus as well?

Your editorial patently ignores the fact that these are CONCEALED weapons and therefore will not be seen and cannot, therefore, be intimidating! Further, you ignore the RIGHTS of the People as outlined in the state and federal constitutions. Finally, you also ignore the LAW.


Sincerely,


Fran Tully