Posted on 03/23/2011 7:08:08 PM PDT by marktwain
A bill that would take away the right of Idaho public universities and colleges to regulate their firearms policies has passed the Idaho State House of Representatives.
House Bill 222, which Idaho House State Affairs Committee voted to introduce on March 10, now moves on to the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee, and if passed there, will go on to the Idaho State Senate.
HB 222 would make it legal to carry guns on campuses, openly or with a concealment permit. Public colleges and universities in Idaho would no longer be able to regulate their firearm policies, except in undergraduate student housing.
"I think it creates problems we haven't had before and creates problems we haven't even thought of yet," John Martin, the Vice President of Community Relations and Marketing, said.
NIC currently does not allow any firearms on campus.
"[If this bill passed] the biggest [changes] would be in security; how we react to incidents," Martin said.
The NIC security force does not carry guns, just tasers. NIC relies on the Coeur d'Alene Police for situations that its security cannot handle.
"We have a great working relationship with [the CDA Police] and ways to contact them quickly," Martin said. "We have contingency plans that help us respond to almost any kind of emergency. In many cases, our reaction to incidents [is] basically to make sure we ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff and minimize damage to facilities until authorities can get here."
NIC has not had an incident with guns in at least three years. There have been oversights, but nothing has been violent.
"We have very little violence on our campus," Martin said.
NIC opposes the bill.
"We think campuses should be a safe haven, where you shouldn't have to worry about saying something that would aggravate someone to react violently," Martin said.
The majority of the testimony given before the vote in the committee was opposed, but it passed anyway, exactly like the education reform bill.
Organizations do not have rights. They have powers. The term "state rights" has always been a misnomer. It was probably coined by the left to muddy the waters about what is a right and what is a power. The Federal government has powers, not rights, for example.
Funny, obviously written from a hoplophobic standpoint. Arizona is working on something similar but I understand it has been watered down from its original version.
While they’re at it, Idaho should allow people to make silencers out of potatoes. It would help the potato business.
“While they’re at it, Idaho should allow people to make silencers out of potatoes. It would help the potato business.”
Best post of the week!!!
When Idaho passed their strengthened pre-emption law a few years ago in response to Moscow, ID trying to ban guns, part of the negotiation to pass it was to allow the Universities and the Fish and Game to make their own rules.
Fish and Game is an obvious one. They need to be able to regulate what kinds of weapons and calibers can be used during different hunts. This does not effect people that are not hunting, but happen to be in hunt units for other reasons, including just plinking into the side of a mountain. Makes sense and I support that.
This bill fixes the University problem, because they shouldn’t be allowed to make their own laws that effect and restrict Constitutional rights of not only students and teachers, but other people that happen to be on the campus for other business.
So, in the eyes of academia, their entities have rights that supercede the second amendment rights of the students?
Typical liberal spin.
Whenever government subsidizes something, it takes the next step and defines how you must act.
Check this story out:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_e7382e44-55cc-11e0-bde0-0017a4a78c22.html
Look at the reason given in seeking to ban open carry - what pansies!
NIC is North Idaho College, for those who don’t follow the link.
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