Starting a CCW Movement at my College - Got Advice?

[mk2ja]

Preface: I'm intentionally withholding the name of the school from this thread at this time.


Introduction

My school's 2009-2010 Student Handbook contains the following firearms policy.

FIREARMS AND OTHER DANGEROUS INSTRUMENTS
The transfer, use, or possession of explosives, fireworks, firearms, dangerous chemicals, or any lethal weapon on Institute property under any circumstances except as part of an Institute authorized activity, instructional session, event or duty is prohibited. This includes specifically resident halls and Greek housing units.

My Goal:

• To change the above policy to allow persons who may otherwise legally possess and carry a firearm in Indiana to be allowed to possess and carry while on campus, or
• To move the policy in that direction.

I attend a private college, so an effort to enact legislation that would force the school to allow CCW on its private property is not something I would support. My school has the right to set its own policy, even if I disagree with it. But I can work to get such policy changed.

Purpose of this thread:
I've opened up this thread to get some recommendations from my fellow Indiana Gun Owners about how to achieve my goal.


Preparation

This battle will require lots of "ammunition". It will take a very good amount of research before I make my first move. Here are some things I've considered so far. What can you add to this list?

1. Statistics and Policies
   1. I'll need nationwide statistics on active shooter events (ASEs).
   2. I'll need nationwide statistics on injuries or problems the few schools that permit CCW have experienced. (Colorado State University is the only one I know off the top of my head, and it may be changing soon there.)
   3. I want to know what our school's policies & preparedness plans are for handling ASEs.
2. Interviews
   • Questions
     1. "In the wake of the active shooter events we have seen nationwide, what has our school done to 1) prevent such an event from happening here, and 2) terminate such an event swiftly to minimize the body count?"
     2. "Personally, how have you prepared to deal with an ASE and, assuming you survive, its aftermath?"
   • People
     1. Office of Public Safety
     2. Director of Residence Life
     3. Dean of Students
     4. President (?)
3. Sources
   1. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus - ConcealedCampus.com

Plan of Action (POA)

I have a rough idea of my approach.

1. Gather statistics
2. Conduct interviews with school officials, armed with statistics which serve to validate my questions
3. Publish my findings in the school newspaper
   I think this may make for a good series, rather than one big article
   1. Write about statistics. Indisputable, raw facts. No opinions. No bull. End with, "What have we done to prepare?"
   2. Quickly overview the stats from last week, then address our state of preparedness. Raw facts. No opinions. No bull. End with, "Have we prepared enough?"
   3. Review stats and policies from previous weeks. Then ask, "Have we prepared enough? Do we need to update our emergency plans?" I'm guessing the answers will be "No" and "Yes" respectively. So I'll write about how I reached that conclusion.

At this time, I'm not going to try to polish that up or add anything else to my outline for the articles because, as I said, it is but a rough idea. I don't know how I'd want to proceed once I hit the end of that POA. I'm not exactly sure how to make the transition from educating the students, faculty, staff, and administrators to calling for a change in policy. I figure I have plenty of time to figure that out, and I'd also like your input on the POA, too.

I do think it best that I complete as much research as possible before I begin to write for the paper so that I can have a new article in the paper each week. I don't want people to forget about what they read last week, and I don't want to leave too much room for any opposition to start replying before I get my next article printed.

I'm also debating doing it under a pseudonym. Sorta like the Federalist Papers. Open to your thoughts on that, too.


Conclusion

At this point, I believe I've covered all the thoughts I'd composed in my mind.

Reminder of what I'm looking for here:

• What statistics should I gather? E.g., violent crime on or near campuses? What else should I be thinking about?
• Can you recommend sources of reliable data?
• More questions I should ask in my interviews
• Other people at school I should talk to (board of directors?)
• What am I missing in this preparation?

What I'm NOT looking for here:
a devil's advocate.

At this point, I'm not ready to start building my arguments, so I don't need anybody playing devil's advocate yet. I will need that later on so I can prepare all my points and be ready to respond to any counter points. But not yet! Hold your thoughts on that, please.


OK, ready?

Let's roll.

 

[minuteman32]

Your goal is admirable & I wish you success. But, plan on doing this for future students b/c administrative wheels frequently move very slowly, unless for something that THEY want/initiate. Don't get (too) frustrated & discouraged, & don't give up. Good luck!

 

[Bill B]

Be sure to look up the statistics about licensed bun owners. You know "less likely to..." The NRA would be a good secondary source for these. The FBI might be a good primary source.
Good luck

 

[trnsplntfrmohio]

Good luck and don't get kicked out. Colleges are very liberal places and many of your classmates are liberal sheep who believe anything that comes out of a professors mouth.

 

[melensdad]

Just a suggestions but what about including a mandatory safe storage clause? Being a private institution they may be more open to having guns on campus IF they have some assurance that the guns are locked away when you are showering, sleeping, etc. I know my fraternity house was unlocked 24/7 and door locks were non-existent. Dorms may be more secure, but I suspect students leave their doors open when they go down to the shower room, etc. So perhaps a provision that an inroom safe be included might ease their minds. Something like a GunVault brand MicroVault or MiniVault (or similar unit) should work well.

Oddly enough, guns on campus were allowed at my college when I was there. May still be? I went to Wabash College in Crawfordsville.

Be sure to look up the statistics about licensed bun owners.

I presume you mean GUN owners.

And the statistic he'd want to find would be a statistic about crime rates committed by gun owners with valid carry licenses/permits versus crime rates committed by citizens without a LTCH(ccw permit, etc).

 

[deadmonkey90]

Lots and lots of examples to support your beliefs.

 

[jdmack79]

Your school is at least partially gun friendly. I wish we had a school shooting club.

 

[minuteman32]

You might find some info here; Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership - Homepage. They seem to be a little harsh & confrontational in their approach, though, so I don't know if I would be as 'agressive' as they are (at least at 1st).
Also; Gun Owners of America are a good organization. I've had numerous contacts with them in the past & I'm sure they would be willing to lend a hand, if they can.
Again, good luck. A win for some of us is a win for all of us.

 

[Z-Glock23]

I am proud to here of your movement that you are presenting and I wish you the best of luck! Keep us up to date with how everything goes as time passes by!

 

[youngda9]

Best of luck to you. You may be able to build up all of the statistics, facts, and rationalities to support your position. You may not be able to overcome the hurdle of a policy rationale based upon fear, ignorance, and emotion. This is where the difficulty lies in getting such a policy changed.

Find out why the policy is written the way it is in the first place. I assume it is CYA general lawyer speak. It may also have to do with satisfying an insurance company.