CUSG Legislative Council votes to ban concealed carry on Boulder campus
The University of Colorado Boulder Student Government has unanimously voted to reinstate a ban on carrying concealed firearms on campus.
CU Boulder’s Student Government (CUSG) unanimously approved a resolution to reinstate a ban on concealed firearms on campus at a Legislative Council meeting Thursday. A previous concealed carry ban that had been in place at CU Boulder had been struck down by the Colorado Supreme Court.
“This is where we have the power to actually change things,” said Tri-Executive Rachel Hill, who gave a speech during the meeting as one of the authors of the resolution.
CU Boulder had a ban on concealed firearms that extended across the CU system until the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the university’s policy goes against the Concealed Carry Act (CCA) in the Regents of the University of Colorado v. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus case.
As a result, the Board of Regents changed Policy 14-I in September 2012, allowing CU students to carry concealed weapons with a permit. Colorado is one of 10 states in the nation that allow concealed carry for students on university campuses.
However, firearms are not allowed in most university buildings, such as residence halls, as well as athletic events, concerts or any other event that requires purchasing a ticket at CU Boulder.
“Ever since 2012, you’ve been allowed to have guns on campus. Most students don’t even know that,” said Hill in her speech. “You could have them here right now.”
The conversation of banning concealed carry on campus arose after the Colorado General Assembly passed the Local Regulation of Firearms Bill, which gives more power to state and local governments to regulate firearms, in June 2021.
The Tri-Executives proposed resolution 97 LCR 05 to the Legislative Council during their weekly meeting on Thursday. It passed unanimously upon first reading.
The resolution calls on the Board of Regents to reevaluate the concealed carry laws throughout the CU system and establish a ban on concealed firearms on campuses. The resolution will be sent to the Board of Regents for review at their Special Board meeting on Oct. 12, then assigned to a committee for review and a vote sometime in December. The final vote could happen anytime between January and March.
“I want to be clear that this is a big deal. The nation is watching us,” said Hill. “Now that [the Board of Regents has] this power, they need to do it, and that’s where we come in.”
