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File Photo by Jill Nance/The News & Advance
Two Liberty University students sit on the steps of DeMoss Hall last month. LU officials say they will consider whether concealed weapons permit holders will be allowed to carry guns on campus.
Liberty University will consider whether to allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry guns on campus at its next board of trustees meeting, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Thursday.
If it adopted the policy change, Liberty would become one nearly a dozen colleges nationally to allow concealed weapons on campus, according to Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
Falwell said he decided to bring the matter before the board for discussion after members of Liberty’s chapter of SCCC requested it.
“We just have a group on campus that’s been promoting that idea, and I really don’t have a good feel for whether our community would support it or not,” Falwell said. “So I just decided to take it to the board.”
Currently the university does not allow those with concealed weapons permits to carry a gun on campus, he said.
The board of trustees has 38 members, including Falwell and his brother Jonathan. The next meeting is in early March.
The body may not make a decision on the issue, Falwell said, but will at least consider it.
“I want to make sure that we look at it long and hard before we make a decision,” he said.
“Between now and the board meeting, we’ll have RAs (resident advisers) talking to students and see what they think about it.”
Falwell also has not formed an opinion on the issue, he said.
Liberty senior Ben Neiman, leader of Liberty’s chapter of SCCC, said the group has more than 300 members, mostly students, staff and faculty.
Nationally, the organization has more than 30,000 members at hundreds of schools.
“These are people who already have their concealed carry permits, and you mingle with them in movie theaters and shopping malls around town anyways,” Neiman said. “We’re just all about our own safety. We realize that campuses are generally safe, but in the off chance that we are threatened, we want to be able to defend ourselves.”
Utah is the only state that does not allow any of its nine public universities to restrict people from carrying concealed weapons on campus.
According to the SCCC, Colorado State University and Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Va., are the only other schools that allow concealed carry on campus.
In Virginia, where one must be at least 21 years old to apply for a concealed handgun permit, each college can decide whether to allow guns on campus.
Leading up to the meeting in March, Falwell said board members have much to consider, such as how difficult the process is to get a permit to carry.
He also hopes to ask students and faculty for their opinions, and learn more about the arguments from both sides of the issue.
“I understand all the concern about security, and that’s why I’m even going to mention it to the board,” Falwell said.
“If the board thinks that would enhance security, then it might be something they would be in favor of.”
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Reader Reactions
Theology is not the discussion at hand, the real question is why people who obviously hate LU care so much about what they do on their own campus. If you don’t frequent LU’s campus, this does not affect you at all. We’re already “totin our guns” off campus. We carry them in the grocery store, movie theater, resteraunt, the odds are out of every 100 adults you run into in the store, one of them is carrying. Yet with all these gun toters around there haven’t been shootouts amongst chp holders. Those are still reserved for the gang members who couldn’t give a flying flip what the law or rules are. This proposal is simply to allow consistency for those who already carry on a daily basis so they do not have to arbitrarily change what they do on just because they’re on campus.
What might pass for provocation in a place where youth is trained for master debate, ambulance chase, and defining family could entertain a world. Carry on campus.
*sigh*
Wow, how quickly people must bring politics into this.
JacksonPollock - Just for a quick refresher on our society but it was formed and maintained in a gun saturated environment. Guns are one of the things that keeps the power in the hands of the people. Remember its “We the people, not we the government.“ Oh and to reference one of the most ignorant statements I have ever heard in my entire life: “Those who fear for their lives (or the “family’s” lives) are generally the ones who are gun tottin’ Bible carryin’ “Christians”“ I hate to burst your bubble, but you do understand that there are people outside of the Lynchburg area and around the world who fear for their lives. Ill start with USA big cities, LA,NY,Chicago and the sorts all have high crime rights and gun bans. (As well as all cities I have been to) I hate to break it to you but there are thousands of people in those cities alone who fear for their lives and families. (Most of which are not Evangelical Christians) Im sure if there was a spree of home break ins or robberies (like there have been in other cities around the USA) in lynchburg, that many people would fear for their lives and families. Please im sure that you must be an intelligent person, please refrain from making such biased and ignorant statements.
Martha - Yes there are crazy people that have access to guns, but so do non-crazy people, such as yourself and most of us here. It is important that everyone who is a law abiding citizen can have access to guns, or else it will be like the United Kingdom. *shudders*
Cosmo - Wow bud, just wow, thats all i can say. You say fundamentalists are mental cases when you could care less if you live or die. You have clearly never gone to a gun range or talked with gun owners. If you would have, you would know that they are BOTH democrats and republicans. You should also do some research into Christianity before making such harsh statements. Yes, Christians believe the next life will be better, but they also believe that their time spent on this earth is important as well. You clearly do not like Liberty or religious people for that matter, so what does it matter to you if students can carry at Liberty? I mean you do not frequent the campus very often do you? Yes I admit that Liberty is not politically correct nor sensitive of peoples feelings. But what you must remember is that they are open about it. If you have an issue with Liberty bring it up somewhere besides this forum. (May I suggest starting with your local representatives?)
This is not a political debate, please keep on topic.
luv. And only REPUGNANT-icans are so fearful of someone shooting them that they want to saturate our society with guns in all the wrong places.
Cosmo, you have come through again with gems of wisdom; though Obama was criticized for his comment, he was right. Those who fear for their lives (or the “family’s” lives) are generally the ones who are gun tottin’ Bible carryin’ “Christians” who believe that you should “love your neighbor as yourself, but if someone ticks you off - blow ‘em away.“ Lots of “good Christian” people posting here. Kinda scary, ain’t it. Pardon the droppin’ of my “g’s” on some words, but I’ve been listenin’ too long to Governor Paling - ooops, Palin.
Oh, yeah, good news. Obama is up by 11 points in the new Newsweek poll this weekend and up greater than the margin of error in almost every other poll (even Fox News). There is hope for our country afterall. Peace.
Luv,
I will promise not to call Republicans Re-thugs, Re-jects or any other nasty name that I have used in other places IF you stop using DemocRATS. How’s about it?
Keep your guns. Pack em while you walk around, keep an arsenal in your home…whatever. My dad AND mom were both in the Army and were both trained to use guns.We had a gun in our home while I was young. IF people are trained AND mentally well then whatever…. guns up your wazoo. Cho had a mental illness. I am not sure he could have been classified as a criminal ( until he committed 32 murders April 2002).The problem, for me, is someone can snap or accidentally shoot a gun or decide to end his/ her life and act impulsively or a myriad of other things when a gun is present. If the gun hadn’t been there possibly a tragedy could have been avoided.I believe in self defense. I believe in the 2nd amendment but I also believe in the 1st and the 14th.There are crazy people w/ guns who use their 2nd amendment rights to kill people exercising the 14th.
Guns may not kill…but people do and there are crazy people on BOTH sides of ideologies who have access to guns. You mentioned William Ayers…how about Timothy McVeigh?
All of our wonderful bleeding heart liberals in Rivermont and Boonsboro need to go out today and make a sign for their yard that says “GUN FREE ZONE”. That will make the entire town safe. Please put your money where your mouth is and live up to your utopian dream.
only a democRAT would be fearful of a law-abiding citizen carrying a gun, and feel totally at ease with a man in the presidency who pals around with terrorists.
Can anyone tell me what part of the constitution makes our college campuses “gun free zones”.
If you were one of the kids at VT hiding under a table waiting for the next round to come through the table and through your skull, Would you be thankful that you are at a “gun free zone”?
With all of the left-wing scum floating to the surface with the rise of Obama in the polls, I don’t blame those kids for wanting to protect themselves from left-wing radicals. Too bad William Ayers didn’t live in a “bomb free zone”. Maybe a few people could have lived.
One needs not to support a specific political party, presidential nominee, or administration to understand the context of this Nation’s guaranteed rights.
Mr. “Jackson Pollock”, do you believe that a gentleman sitting at a bus stop reading the newspaper is a fool, or by any means is threat to you? (#1) Let’s just say that you have a family, a loving wife, a young son and several daughters… would you be open for an active military unit to set up quarters IN your home? Would you feel awkward knowing that you had a dozen or more unknown men sharing your living space in a close proximity with your daughter’s room? (#3) Or better yet, how would you like it if you came home to find that your house was not only raided, but all your possessions were confiscated? (#4)Would you want to be required to testify against yourself in a court of law? (#5) How would it feel to be deprived due process? (#6) Would you label a group of citizens who wanted a trial by jury “a bunch of cupcakes, namby-pambies, and wusses”? (#7)
I can go on with this list of examples; last I heard we have 27 Amendments.
Now, let’s suggest that because one wants to attend a University, they are no longer guaranteed these simple and basic rights of freedom.
To erode any rights, my any means, to anyone, leads down the dark road to a tyrannical government. One should not have to be “afraid that the sky is falling” to be legally allowed to carry a licensed firearm. For example, why drive around your vehicle with a spare tire? Are you looking to get a flat tire? Probably not, and I would wager that most people do not know that you are even carrying a spare tire. Though if you get a flat, and do not want to wait for AAA Roadside assistance to arrive, you have the spare tire.
If you are unhappy with current political activities… or the lack there of… get involved and speak up.
Wow JacksonPollock, thank you for hitting a new low when it comes to being biased. I really enjoyed your comment because it had absolutely 0% logic behind your arguments. Thank you.
For one, the majority of the campus is against drinking alcohol. I do not believe that the campus has been polled on what its stance is on regarding concealed carry. If there was a group for drinking on campus, I believe without a doubt that the student body would be against it. Currently the concealed carry group has 377 members, that’s not exactly what i would call an outcry against it.
You say that we are afraid? You say that the alarmist attitude is fear? Trust me I do not carry a weapon because of fear, I carry a weapon to protect and defend my loved ones. Regardless of the administration in power we have the right to carry firearms. Because regardless of the administration there will be criminals. And yes fear is a good reason to carry a gun. The elderly should be afraid of people breaking into their house. The handicapped should be afraid of people robbing them on the street. Im sorry but yes sometimes fear does play a part in things. If you were in a classroom with a gunman opening fire im sure that you would be afraid.
As for your comments about Bush and the such: Thank you once again for bringing in another topic that has nothing to do with the subject at hand.
In regards to your “logic filled” William Shatner paragraph: Just because people go to Liberty goes not mean they support Bush or McCain. And just because you carry a gun it does not make you a “right winger”. I know plenty of Obama supporters who are for concealed carry, although their choice of candidate is not. Also I enjoyed your personal attacks on those who support concealed carry. Very mature and logical.
In summary, please do not use emotional topics to further your agenda without bring forth LOGICAL facts, its sadly done enough by both parties in today’s race. Here JacksonPollock ill do alittle research for you! Check out sites like, http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp . This is by no means the definitive source for information, but at the very least its cited. When you use logic and facts it really helps your argument sound like its coming from an adult. Thanks.
(please excuse my poor grammar and spelling) 
Posted by ( JacksonPollock ) on October 10, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Someone suggesting that by denying a student the right to go “packin’” on campus violates his/her bill of rights when those who are 21 are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages on that campus (they are 21 and old enough to drink off campus, and it OK to have an “alcoholic free” campus but not a “gun free” campus
—Which Amendment is it that gives anyone a right to drink? Alcohol is simply a beverage that some enjoy, it is not an issue of rights or safety. The issues are not even comparable. When every court in the land has held that police are not responsible to protect citizens, preventing them from possessing the tools to protect themselves is a death sentence just like those at VT who were stripped of any choice but to wait to die because killers don’t care if they’re in a gun free zone.
The next thing you will be doing is wearing a helmet on your head because the Falwells and Bush tell you there are asteroids falling from the sky or hopping around on one leg because they tell you that there are creatures that might eat your legs, so hold one up off the ground so you will still have one good leg to stand on.
—If you think that violent crime in Lynchburg is a myth like your magical creature, you are living in a fantastic. Look at the other pages of the N&A;here and take a look at the violent crime around here. Sure it’s not the most violent city (those are the cities that ban guns BTW), but it the threat of being a victim to violent crime is still very real. According to LU’s crime report there were 4 forcible sex offenses last year. Does it comfort you to know that those four victims and anyone who might have witnessed the event were powerless to prevent it. Would you feel the same way if that victim was your daughter. Please get back in the real world. Violence and crime are real whether you’d like to believe it or not.
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