No guns at Duke
Starting today, North Carolina residents who have permits to carry concealed handguns can tote their weapons to a variety of new venues—including bars and public college campuses. We believe that the new gun laws are misguided, dangerous and incompatible with a commitment to both public safety and the free exchange of ideas.
Although public universities have no choice but to comply with new laws, private institutions, like Duke, can create its own policies for carrying guns on campus. We commend the University for its decision to continue its longstanding ban of guns on campus.
Duke’s decision to uphold its ban on guns amounts to a tacit rejection of the state’s new gun law. Given that the rules governing gun ownership and use are unlikely to change in the near future, we believe Duke has dealt with these legislative shifts in the best way possible. We support Duke’s rejection of the new legislation not only because guns in public places create more opportunities for violence, but also because the presence of guns on campus would undermine our ability to promote a healthy and collaborative academic environment. Carrying a gun comes with an implicit threat. Gun holders can, at any moment, kill the people around them, and college campuses cannot remain centers of free inquiry and exchange if students and faculty are faced daily with the threat of violent death. In our view, the only place for a gun on a college campus is in the holster of a trained police officer.
Even though Duke will continue to prohibit guns on campus, local bars and restaurants may not. Bars and restaurants can choose whether or not to ban guns from their premises, and, for some students, the possibility of encountering guns when they venture off campus will deter them from exploring local restaurants. To prevent the new gun laws from discouraging students from exploring the city, we ask the University to consider publishing a list of establishments that ban guns so students can make an informed decision about where to go when they leave campus.
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/10/01/no-guns-duke
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