On Monday night, the University chapter of the College Libertarians raffled off a $200 gift certificate for the purchase of a gun at a shop in Dexter, Mich.
But the winner won’t be able to bring the prize to the next weekly meeting of the College Libertarians in the Michigan League.
A University Board of Regents ordinance prohibits the possession of firearms on University property.
“This is a weapons-free campus,” Department of Pubic Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
The ordinance says “no person shall, while on any property owned leased or otherwise controlled by the Regents of the University of Michigan: possess any firearm or any other dangerous weapon as defined in or interpreted under Michigan law.”
Brown said many people think the recently-revised state weapons policy allows them to carry a weapon on campus with a concealed weapons permit.
The regental ordinance says otherwise.
The document specifies that the provision against having a weapon on campus applies even to those who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
LSA sophomore Eric Plourde, president of the University chapter of the College Libertarians, said he disagrees with the University’s policy.
“It’s not about the amount of guns on campus,” Plourde said. “It’s about having the freedom to defend yourself if you choose to. By having a policy of having no concealed guns on campus, you take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, while criminals will still continue to carry a gun.”
The ordinance does contain some exceptions. Police officers, both from the Department of Public Safety and other agencies, can keep their guns with them on campus.
So can people participating in a military ceremony or a training program authorized by the University. There’s also an exception for hunting, so long as the hunting is authorized by the University.
The ordinance also gives the director of DPS the right to waive the ban “based on extraordinary circumstances.”
JILLIAN BERMAN