Interesting E-Mail

[SteveM4A1]

Hi ____,

It has been brought to our attention that you have a carry & conceal license and are carrying a firearm with you. It is against ________ policies to have weapons on school grounds or in the student housing. Please see _______________ and ________ of the housing agreement which governs the student housing (also copied below).


Students are prohibited from carrying any type of firearm on the school's premises or parking areas.

The following are prohibited in or on apartment premises:
Weapons

While we understand your wish to protect yourself, particularly traveling, and respect that you have a license to carry a concealed weapon, we must abide by our school policies and therefore cannot allow weapons on the premises of the school or student housing. Thanks.

Someone I know received this email, and while I had to remove a substantial amount of info to protect identities, you can definitely get the gist of the email. Now, this is not in the state of Indiana, but our brother to the south, Kentucky, but I still felt it would spark good conversation. The individual is in the middle of a semester at this institution, so he/she will not be telling them to pound sand and leaving, as that would be a huge waste of money. I have, however, decided with the individual to respond by email. Here is what I have written so far:

Hello ______,

I would like to clarify some points in your previous e-mail regarding School and Housing Policies. First, I do not hold a “carry & conceal license”, or “a license to carry a concealed weapon”. Indiana, which is obviously where I am from, has no such license. I do hold a license from my state to carry a handgun, however. When you stated, “While we understand your wish to protect yourself, particularly traveling, and respect that you have a license to carry….”, what did you mean by understand and respect? If _______ understands my wish to protect myself from harm, and respects that wish, would that not mean you will allow me to do exactly that? However, since you contradict yourself later in the same sentence, I am assuming you do not understand or respect my desire to defend myself. Since _________ is a private organization, I will abide by the policies set forth and no longer carry a firearm on the property. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, as I probably would not have known this if you had not.

Regarding ________ of the student housing agreement, what is defined as “weapons”? Am I not allowed to have a steak knife? What about my scissors? Clearly you can see that there are numerous items that can be used as a weapon, even if you do not define it as that. Once again, I will follow the policies of the institution, but now that it has been brought to my attention, it seems rather vague and broad.

I hope that you do not take this as offensive _____, as this is not an issue I have with you, but rather the policies of _______. Gun ownership and gun control are very heated debates in this country as more and more shootings occur, especially in schools and universities. While making policies against guns may seem, on the surface, as the obvious solution, in reality it has the opposite effect. Criminals do not follow laws or policies, or they wouldn’t be criminals. On the other hand, I, as a law-abiding citizen, do follow the law and rules already established. In this case, following that policy can put me in danger without a means to defend myself. This makes me very nervous, and I hope that I am not put in a position where I need to defend myself, as there are armed security guards that would be able to help me.

Sincerely,

Now, let me know what you guys think, add some stuff in (I wrote this letter in about 5 mins and I am sure I made some mistakes and am forgetting a bunch of stuff), etc! Thanks.

 

[MisterChester]

Are these rules enforceable by law in Kentucky?

 

[Bunnykid68]

I wouldnt admit to anything violating their policies unless I was doing it after packing my bags

 

[Snapdragon]

What the bunny said.

 

[SteveM4A1]

I wouldnt admit to anything violating their policies unless I was doing it after packing my bags

I believe the person had already admitted to it, which is why this email was sent. But I will change that, thank you.

 

[SteveM4A1]

Are these rules enforceable by law in Kentucky?

From what I have read, yes. But I am no law expert.

Edit: By enforceable, I mean the law specifically states that postsecondary educations and technicall/vocational institutions can enact their own policies.

 

[mom45]

Bunnykid has a good point. I think I would write it stating that while this person has a permit issued by the State of Indiana, that does not automatically mean that he has a firearm in his possession on campus or in student housing, and that although he disagrees with their rule, he is willing to comply and follow it.

 

[SteveM4A1]

Bunnykid has a good point. I think I would write it stating that while this person has a permit issued by the State of Indiana, that does not automatically mean that he has a firearm in his possession on campus or in student housing, and that although he disagrees with their rule, he is willing to comply and follow it.

We have a license But I am going to change that portion of the email, even though the individual had already admitted to "carrying a handgun".

 

[stevee]

Your letter admits to prior violation of the policy which may not be a good thing. Woops!!! Looks like others beat me to the punch on this. Sorry!

 

[DRob]

Overall, well written. If it comes down to getting thrown out of school and losing tuition already paid, play their game. Anybody who would advise otherwise is not going to reimburse your lost money.

Is this an omission of the word "no", which I added in red?

"This makes me very nervous, and I hope that I am not put in a position where I need to defend myself, as there are no armed security guards that would be able to help me."

 

[SteveM4A1]

Overall, well written. If it comes down to getting thrown out of school and losing tuition already paid, play their game. Anybody who would advise otherwise is not going to reimburse your lost money.

Is this an omission of the word "no", which I added in red?

"This makes me very nervous, and I hope that I am not put in a position where I need to defend myself, as there are no armed security guards that would be able to help me."

Yea I don't think they are going to throw the person out, but just stating their policy. The individual will not be carrying a firearm on school property after this email. Just looking for a good way to respond and get our opinion across. And yes, I forgot the word no. thank you!

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Never admit anything, even to university/college/institution officials, as those statements can be entered as evidence if it becomes a criminal matter. Put a lawyer on retainer and do NOT respond to these jackalopes without having it first go through your counsel.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Never admit anything, even to university/college/institution officials, as those statements can be entered as evidence if it becomes a criminal matter. Put a lawyer on retainer and do NOT respond to these jackalopes without having it first go through your counsel.

This^^^^^ If it is not a legal matter he should just lie lie and lie some more. If it becomes a legal matter he should shut his bacon hole

 

[SteveM4A1]

So just let this go and do not respond whatsoever? I don't think the individual is wanting to just "let it go". The individual has been advised to not admit to anything in the future, and has clarified his/her stance on whether anything was admitted. The individual never told any official or employee of the institution that anything was being carried at the time, prior, or would be in the future. Just stated he/she had a license from the state of Indiana.

 

[Bunnykid68]

If this person plans on continuing their education there, yes, let it go. Continue to carry and lie about. If they are leaving, let it fly on the way out.

 

[mom45]

I think what the other person was trying to express is that WHATEVER he sends to he university could (and likely will) become part of his permanent file. It could cause problems down the road. It might not hurt to consult with an attorney prior to sending anything to see what they recommend. A consult is usually free and the cost of sending a letter on his behalf would probably not cost a huge amount. It could lead to additional expenses if the school chooses to pursue this and doesn't consider the matter closed.

 

[SteveM4A1]

I think what the other person was trying to express is that WHATEVER he sends to he university could (and likely will) become part of his permanent file. It could cause problems down the road. It might not hurt to consult with an attorney prior to sending anything to see what they recommend. A consult is usually free and the cost of sending a letter on his behalf would probably not cost a huge amount. It could lead to additional expenses if the school chooses to pursue this and doesn't consider the matter closed.

Sounds like a good idea, and one we had considered. Wait until the end of the semester, then respond to the email/policy. Especially since the individual sees and interacts with the "school official" everyday.

 

[SteveM4A1]

If this person plans on continuing their education there, yes, let it go. Continue to carry and lie about. If they are leaving, let it fly on the way out.

I don't think the person will be carrying in the future. There are other means of self defense, even if they are not as efficient.

 

[looney2ns]

There is the saying....always carry...never tell.
Sounds like possibly he told somebody and word got to the top.

 

[g00n24]

I am kind of surprised by the university's rather gentle response to that person breaking their rules. It seems to me they are being as nice as possible about the situation. Obviously, your friend shouldn't have told anyone that he was breaking the rules, but that's in the past now. I'm with the others here that say don't give a response, or give a response saying "I will respect your rules...blah blah blah" and continue to carry.

I think raising a further stink won't be good for him/her. Might be best just to kiss their butts and thank them for not throwing him/her out, and just carry on making sure he/she never gets caught.