[Vision2020] Firearms Bill Worries Campus

[lfalen]

There is a lot of booze at athletic events. Guns should be checked at the door.
Roger
-----Original message-----
From: "Tom Hansen" thansen at moscow.com
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2011 08:31:04 -0700
To: "Moscow Vision 2020" vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Firearms Bill Worries Campus

> "If it becomes law, . . . Guns would be allowed at athletic events."
> 
> Kinda adds a whole new dimension to college "rivalry", huh?
> 
> Idea for t-shirt text:  Nasty, Inebriated, and Armed
> 
> Courtesy of today's (March 20, 2011) Spokesman-Review.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Firearms bill worries campus
> Boise State says events would be jeopardized
> 
> BOISE – Boise State University could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars
> in revenue from lost sporting and entertainment events if Idaho lawmakers
> approve a bill to allow guns on college campuses, a school official says.
> 
> Bruce Newcomb, the university’s director of government affairs and a
> former speaker of the Idaho House, said such a law could jeopardize
> hosting events such as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the
> scheduled 2012 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s indoor track and field
> championships.
> 
> “We’re convinced this is going to interfere with those endeavors,” Newcomb
> told the Idaho Statesman.
> 
> The Idaho House on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow firearms on
> public university and college campuses. It now goes to the Senate.
> 
> If it becomes law, it would prohibit schools from banning firearms, either
> carried openly or by people with concealed weapons permits, anywhere on
> campus except in undergraduate residence halls. Guns would be allowed at
> athletic events.
> 
> Idaho law now gives university and college presidents authority to
> prohibit firearms on campus. Boise State University, Idaho State
> University, the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College and several
> community colleges throughout the state have adopted their own regulations
> to prohibit guns on campus.
> 
> Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, co-sponsored the current legislation and
> disagrees that schools would experience any negative ramifications. He
> also wondered how the school knows guns aren’t being taken on campus
> already, especially because he said he’s often carried guns to Boise State
> venues.
> 
> “My question would be to Boise State: How do they know people aren’t
> carrying guns there now? None of those venues have metal detectors. They
> don’t say to the visitors or the ticket-holders, ‘Don’t bring your guns
> because this is a gun-free zone,’ ” Hagedorn said. “I have never
> seen anything. I have carried to a lot of those venues, and I did not know
> the policy, nor did I see any signs.”
> 
> Boise State spokesman Frank Zang said the campus has more than 1 million
> visits annually by people attending hundreds of sports, cultural and
> entertainment events.
> 
> “We are concerned that allowing guns on campus would have an adverse
> effect on attracting these events to Boise,” he said. “The industry
> standard does not allow weapons in the facilities.”
> 
> Creston Thornton, a concert promoter with CT Touring, said weapons are not
> allowed at concerts either. Taco Bell Arena, on the Boise State campus,
> has hosted concerts by the Dave Matthews Band, Toby Keith, Metallica and
> Journey.
> 
> “We don’t even allow glass bottles because they can be used as weapons.
> It’s just assumed there’s a no-weapons policy,” said Thornton.
> 
> Rep. Erik Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, said passing a law allowing guns on
> campus would not stop the NCAA men’s basketball tournament from coming to
> Boise State, where early-round games have been held eight times since
> 1983, most recently in 2009.
> 
> But the NCAA in its 2009 operating manual for the tournament states that
> “firearms and explosives of any kind are not permitted.”
> 
> The University of Utah, however, held part of the NCAA women’s gymnastics
> championship. Utah does not allow firearms bans on college campuses.
> 
> “It’s a red herring,” said Simpson. “There is no truth to it. It is not a
> condition of them appearing on a campus. It’s a guideline. It’s a policy.
> I don’t think policy is going to trump state law.”
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
> 
> - Unknown
> 
> 
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