Question regarding campus carry legality

Just throwing this out there.. HB 506 is to amend 97-37-7. That covers law enforcement, security, etc, and any other job that requires a firearm in the course of their duties. Unless your job requires you to have a firearm you will be in violation. It does not amend 97-37-17 that makes it illegal for students to have firearms and it does not amend 45-9-101 that allows you to get a permit to carry concealed.

That being said I am for having armed campuses.. It is going to take some pressure from the people to have it changed. Start with talking to your representative..

HB 506 states:
"A person licensed under Section 45-9-101 to carry a concealed pistol, who has voluntarily completed an instructional course in the safe handling and use of firearms offered by an instructor certified by a nationally recognized organization that customarily offers firearms training, or by any other organization approved by the Department of Public Safety, shall also be authorized to carry weapons in courthouses except in courtrooms during a judicial proceeding, and any location listed in subsection (13) of Section 45-9-101, except any place of nuisance as defined in Section 95-3-1, any police, sheriff or highway patrol station or any detention facility, prison or jail. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations allowing concealed pistol permit holders to obtain an endorsement on their permit indicating that they have completed the aforementioned course and have the authority to carry in these locations."

I am a person licensed under 45-9-101. It says "[a] person," not "a person licensed except students." That's how I read it anyway. If it is legal for permit holders to carry on campus, then it's legal. Sweet Jesus the laws in this state give me a headache......

Your 100% correct.. I looked back and did not see the last part of the new bill the first time around... Well a step in the right direction!

gunaddict wrote:Your 100% correct.. I looked back and did not see the last part of the new bill the first time around... Well a step in the right direction!

I'd check with a lawyer first on that one but he is right it does say "a person"

Gilnockie89 wrote:I've emailed my concerns to a number of people I know and gotten no clarification. I have resolved to test the stregnth of freedom in Mississippi when I gain the endorsement. HB 506 does not exclude students anywhere in the text, therefore I consider it making student carry on campus legal. If I am arrested or charged, which I think is likely, then I will fight the issue out in court. I have stood by for long enough and watched tyrants sitting in legislatures around this country think they can dictate our rights to us. Time to stand as one. I hope I'll not be alone in asserting my rights as an American citizen.

You're more than welcome to fight the good fight on my behalf...I completely agree with you.................but my rights are more important to me than a month of illegally carrying after the bill goes into effect(if the endorsement is even available first of July) since I finish august 5th

If taking a stand is worth it to you then I applaud you for that...if I had more time left in school I'd probably be singing the same tune...but as it is, I'll pass

Same here. I still got a year left of school but I'm not carrying till its "perfectly" legal. I did, however, receive a reply from a senator. They are well aware of the issue. He stated there were 2 ways to solve the school carry issue: pass a bill to repeal 97-37-17 in the next session or file a lawsuit. I'd prefer the repeal.

As would I, but one is about as likely as the other....getting it done by next session though? Especially unlikely

Well I do believe I have 5 years left of school, so if yall could get all this worked out for me I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!!

At the bare minimum, they could at least make vehicle carry legal on campus.

IslandTimes wrote:Well I do believe I have 5 years left of school, so if yall could get all this worked out for me I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!!

Contact Students for Concealed Carry on Campus at concealedcampus.org, and ask what you need to do to start a chapter at your campus! Then you need to write a letter to your Congressman and Senator. I've been writing e-mails and letters to these folks all semester, and have gotten a few responses but not many. Just imagine if they were being flooded with them! Eventually something might get done.

bigun220 wrote:At the bare minimum, they could at least make vehicle carry legal on campus.

I'm in no way advocating that you break the law, because I do not intentionally keep my gun in a vehicle on campus, but realistically, how would they know? If you were to insist on keeping a gun in the vehicle then I would put it in a safe/lockbox, or use the cable lock that comes w/ just about every gun these days and lock it up in your glovebox w/ your doors locked at the least. Pull over just off campus, unload, lock it, and hide it before getting on campus, so no one can say they saw you had a gun w/ you, and the second you pull off campus repeat the process in reverse order.

Like I said, I do not encourage this, because I don't believe its worth the felony charge, but if you, or someone else were to insist, this is the best way to go about it in order to keep the possibility of getting a felony charge to a minimum. I'm only even saying this because I can obviously sympathize....

Hopefully the mods do not take this as inappropriate, and if so, just shoot me a pm and I'll edit it accordingly.

I won't even attempt to carry a firearm in my car while on campus. No way! You're right about the felony charge. I was just mentioning campus vehicle carry. It should be legal because it is in most other situations. Like you, I do not advocate unlawful activities. I'd imagine that it would be legal if the student parked off campus?

bigun220 wrote:I'd imagine that it would be legal if the student parked off campus?

Definitely legal to do that, but I know at USM its nearly impossible to park off campus without parking in some business' lot and getting ticketed/towed, so for me that's out. Its sad that that's what it comes to...........i keep a Kimber Pepperblaster II in one pocket, Surefire in the other, and a folder clipped in one pocket, and one occasion(late nights) I'm liable to have a fixed blade stashed somewhere....course I'm not a small guy(6'0, 220lbs), and I look intimidating and mean from what I'm told? I guess its because I don't smile ......so I'm not overly worried about it, but I'm all about being prepared, cuz bigger and much tougher guys that me(I'm a wimp really) get their @$$es handed to em everyday.

I'm in the same boat as i am both a student and an employee at USM. I would pay a business owner if he/she let me park on their property. lol. My buck ranger is always with me and i carry a holstered mini maglite at the 3 o'clock position. Concealed in whole or in part of course. I wonder why folks don't do the empty holster protest there?

There's no organization to it. If I'd found out about students for concealed carry on campus before my last full semester I would've tried to start one...but with 18 hrs this semester and it being an especially stressful one, I wouldn't have had time to start one

Well, a little unrelated, but I just convinced the future editor of the DM (Ole Miss newspaper) that carrying on campus isn't such a bad idea. So if we can get a group started up here next semester, that should help spread the word and cause a bit.