S.A. to Vote on Weapon Policy

This afternoon, Mark Coombs ’08, director of election on the Student Assembly, and Ahmed Salem ’08, an at-large S.A. representative and chair of the Cornell College Republicans, will present a resolution on the subject of concealed carry of weapons on campus to the S.A. If the resolution passes, the S.A. will ask the administration to allow Cornellians to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Coombs, a Sun columnist, and Salem are pushing for this cause in light of the fact that “recent campus shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University represent an intolerable failure of the ‘gun-free zone’ to ensure the safety and the security of the students within it,” according to their resolution.
The resolution stems from the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states, “… the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
It is also is based upon Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr.’s (R-Utah) legislation last year allowing concealed carry on all public university campuses in the state.
In case the administration refuses to allow students to conceal and carry weapons, the resolution asks that President Skorton compose a report explaining the administration’s denial of the resolution.
The resolution comes about a week after the Cornell College Republicans sparked controversy by placing signs on the Arts Quad publicizing this cause.