Stakeholders address UW campus gun policy concerns with trustees
By Ivy Secrest
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via Wyoming News Exchange
CHEYENNE — As the University of Wyoming considers allowing conceal carry on campus, students, faculty and other community stakeholders took the opportunity to express their concerns during Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
Current campus regulations prevent dangerous weapons from being carried in university facilities. According to the university, exemptions can be granted on a case-by-case basis by the UW Police Department.
The university sought input on potential changes to campus firearm policies following Gov. Mark Gordon’s directive earlier this year. Students, faculty, staff and the public were invited to provide feedback via an online form or at Thursday’s meeting.
The directive explained the governor’s decision to veto House Bill 125, which was approved during the 2024 session of the Wyoming Legislature. The bill would have allowed for lawful conceal carry at “any public school, public college or university athletic event taking place on public property that does not sell alcoholic beverages” and “any public college or university facility.”
The measure also would have done away with the university’s right to regulate the storage, use and possession of firearms.
According to the governor, his veto of the bill was not based on opposition to repealing gun-free zones, but because he viewed the bill as an overreach of the legislature that would infringe on local control.
While a decision regarding gun policy on campus wasn’t made during the meeting, public comment was relatively split between those for and those against guns on campus.
Increased risk with guns
“I have been going with my son to campus since he was a baby,” local social worker Sara Bursac told the board. “… These times were filled with a sense of gratitude for the peacefulness of the environment. We would simply no longer feel safe to come to campus if firearms were allowed. The presence of guns would forever change the experience of feeling safe on campus with or without my child.”
Bursac cited the 2022 Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions annual report, which states that “for the third straight year, firearms killed more children and teens, ages 1 to 17, than any other cause including car crashes and cancer.”
The study found that in 2022, 48,204 people died from gunshots in the U.S. in 2022, including 27,032 suicides.
Bursac was not the only person concerned about suicide and public safety who addressed the board.
Several students made an appearance, some even stating they would transfer if the university were to allow conceal carry.
“I am here to share why I believe that guns on campus would pose a safety issue and exacerbate the mental health crisis,” elementary education major Liz Pierson told the board. “To start off, we have to understand that campuses are already relatively safe. The National Institute of Health suggests that campuses are safer than the community in which they’re located.”
Pierson argued that an increase in guns would increase gun violence as opposed to stopping it.
“While Wyoming may have more trained gun users than other states, how many people can say that they have successfully stopped a crime or interfered with the use of a firearm?” Pierson asked the board. “I’ll answer that for you, that according to the NRA, 0.5% of U.S. citizens have used their guns for defensive purposes. The probability that having guns on campus would actually stop a shooting or a crime is much less than the probability of increasing successful suicide attempts.”
Pierson was joined by a few others who told the board that they would consider transferring if the conceal carry policy were to change, making campus more gun friendly.
Some faculty also expressed their concerns for the safety of their students and themselves on campus.
UW Art Museum Education and Public Programs Coordinator Will Bowling and Assistant Professor and Director of Creative Writing Molly McCully Brown expressed concerns about safety in the classroom.
Brown told the board that every semester she’s taught on a college campus, somewhere in the U.S. there’s been an on-campus shooting. Brown is disabled and has had to ensure that her students know not to wait around to help her in the event of a shooting.
“I’m acutely aware of the ways my disability would make it harder for me to help protect them, and might even put them at increased risk,” Brown told the board.
Brown elaborated, defining university as a place with two equal obligations, keeping students physically and mentally safe, and challenging students mentally and academically. This second obligation, Brown told the board, often leads to some discomfort and challenging existing perspectives.
Brown added that she didn’t know how she or her peers would handle these tough conversations if they knew guns could be present.
Identifying himself to the board as a hunter and owner of multiple guns, Bowling stated to the board that firearm access is not under threat in the state of Wyoming and guns do not belong in educational settings.
He found this to be especially true considering the Art Museum hosts grade school students in addition to college students.
“While I would fear for my safety as an educator and a faculty member, my real fear is for every student pre-kindergarten through graduate student,” Bowling said. “Because they deserve access to quality educational engagement without fear for their safety. Changing this policy undermines basic common sense public safety measures, and it will inevitably result in unnecessary harm.”
Increased risk without guns
While several speakers were opposed to any policy change, not all of their peers shared this sentiment. Some told the board that allowing guns on campus would increase safety.
“True security doesn’t come from avoiding threats but from being prepared to confront them,” UW law student Brandon Calloway told the board.
Prior to attending law school, Calloway spent 10 years in the Navy. He told the board that in his military career he had learned the critical importance of being prepared and he had come Thursday to advocate for unlimited permitless concealed carry on campus.
“Our current policy makes the University of Wyoming a soft target,” Calloway told the board. “When law-abiding citizens are disarmed, it creates an environment where those intent on doing harm know that they will not face an immediate resistance. Banning firearms on campus creates a false sense of security. It may seem safe, it may feel safe, but it leaves the campus community vulnerable to real threats.”
Another community member, Kurtis Silvernale, shared that based on his military experience, he felt that guns on campus would be useful in the event of an active shooter. Based on police response times and the size of campus, this speaker shared that a civilian with a gun would be able to act sooner than a police officer.
Potential middle ground
While there were advocates for unlimited permitless concealed carry and some for the standing policies, there were also stakeholders who advocated for more of a middle ground.
“It is my belief that it is essential to uphold the right to bear arms,” graduate student in mental health counseling Noah Raish told the board. “It is also my belief that it is equally important to create a safe learning environment. I am in support of concealed carry on campus with specific requirements being met. The responsible, trained firearm owner is the backbone of our country and our community.”
Raish told the board that while there will always be gun owners who carry irresponsibly and illegally, there should be options for those who have permits and know how to handle a firearm safely.
Even allowing for permit concealed carry with conditions would be an adjustment from the current policy, which doesn’t allow for any dangerous weapons being carried in university facilities.
The survey by which the board was taking comment is now closed. The board has yet to make a decision about the conceal carry policies on campus, and no deadline for a decision was discussed during Thursday’s meeting.
This story was published on September 27, 2024.