Gun Advocates Host Open Carry Walk on Kent State’s Campus
0926_NC_PKG_GunsOnCampus from kristen anzuini on Vimeo.
Election season brings the debate and discussion of many controversial topics, with second amendment rights at the forefront. Laws that allow open or concealed carry exist nationwide, however, gun rules tend to be much stricter on college campuses. An Open Carry/Firearm Education Walk brought about 30 people to Kent State’s campus on Saturday, September 24, 2016.
The walk began at the MACC Center’s parking lot and went through campus near Taylor Hall, the site of the May 4th Museum and the location where four students were killed on May 4, 1970. The group came together to acknowledge their state right to open carry firearms.
“This is legal anywhere in the state of Ohio,” said Tony Heydon, one of the participants of the walk.
Active students and staff are not allowed to possess a firearm on Kent State’s campus, per campus policy. According to Kent State policy, “it is strictly prohibited for any individual to possess, store or use a deadly weapon as defined in the Ohio Revised Code or any other dangerous ordnance in and/or on university owned, rented and/or sponsored property. This policy applies to all faculty, staff, students, visitors, vendors and contractors.”
Per the university’s code of conduct, current students and university staff are prohibited from possessing firearms on campus. Some students who participated in the walk improvised with artificial guns or none at all.
“The difference is that the law says a student can carry openly on campus,” said Jeffry Smith, the organizer of the walk. “So it’s not the law that prohibits a student from carrying openly on campus, it is the code of student conduct that prohibits them.”
In 2004, new concealed carry laws were passed in Ohio. However, these did not apply to students on college campuses. According to NASPA, at least eight of the 21 states that prohibit guns on campuses allow firearms to be stored in a locked vehicle parked on the institution’s premises. Ohio is not one of these states.
The open carry walk is one in a series of many walks held on college campuses across Ohio. Other walks have been held on the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, the University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, and Miami University.
Smith was inspired by the attack of a student on the campus at the University of Cincinnati while he attending. He recalls being able to carry a weapon during his time in college.
“I put together the idea of a walk that was originally around the perimeter and around the area of the University of Cincinnati, and then later became on the campus of Cincinnati,” Smith said.
Smith is a vocal advocate for gun rights and believes open carry should be permitted for students on campus.
“The idea being to interact with students and passersby about the law in Ohio, to advocate for campus carry for those who are licensed, [and] to give people a choice that they no longer had, since the law changed in 2004,” Smith said, when asked to describe the walk’s mission.
Kent State’s well-documented history with gun violence was an important factor for participants choosing the campus as a location for this event.
On May 4th, 1970, four Kent State students were killed by the national guard while protesting the Vietnam war. This site is now the location of the official May 4th Museum and memorial within Taylor Hall. The campus history drew protesters, mostly students, who felt the presence of the gun advocates was inappropriate. Many stood with signs that read: “If your bullets are made for people, they don’t belong at school” and “Peace > Dogma.”
“I’m not protesting open carry because in an ideal world, guns would have not been invented,” said Abbey Jones, a freshman Integrated Language Arts major at Kent. “I’m protesting any open carry on our campus. It’s morally unjust that they’re on campus with its history, walking through the massacre parking lot. I just wanted to speak out peacefully; I think that’s wrong.”
Despite controversy surrounding the walk, gun advocates were still permitted on campus, though they were not allowed in any of the buildings, per campus policy.
“I was conflicted when first asked by several agencies to do the tour,” said Emeritus Professor Jerry Lewis. “I just wanted to make sure they were respectful of the spots and they didn’t say things that were inappropriate or do things that were inappropriate.”
Though the event occurred without incident, policemen were on campus during the walk as a precaution.
“I’m happy that there was some sort of dialogue created, but I just feel that they could have come without their guns and still educated and tried to educate,” said protestor Karen Issacs. “Because, bringing guns into a situation, for me, has always always made me uncomfortable.”
Over the years, it has been questioned whether lives could have been saved on May 4th had students been armed. Professor Lewis believes it would have caused potentially more deaths.
“I don’t think the wide distribution of guns would be that successful in preventing mass shootings,” said Lewis. Lewis referenced the no-gun policy of police in Britain, which has been in effect for 187 years. Britain has SWAT teams with armed rifles, in case a situation calls for firearms.
On the contrary, Heydon believes that allowing students to be armed would make a safer campus. Referring to the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, Heydon said,
“The mass quantity of casualties could have been prevented if they had an open carry [or] even a concealed policy on campus.”
“I am in support of the second amendment, but I don’t know about just walking around with ARs,” said student Grant Blumenthal.
The objective of the campus walk was to educate and bring awareness to second amendment rights and campus gun policies.
“I thought Jeff Smith and his demonstrators were very cordial and they had a sincere desire to learn,” said Lewis.
Participants and protestors of the walk were able to maintain peace and civility. “I think there was a lot of discipline on both sides,” said Lewis.
