An instructor at the University of Utah is facing massive backlash after she created a "Second Amendment zone" in her classroom. Students who legally carried were forced to stand in a corner of the room that was roped off just for them, Campus Reform reported.
The instructor provided her "weapons policy" to students, which stated:
Concealed carry is protected under your second amendment rights! However, because the University of Utah reserves the right to restrict elements of the first amendment on campus to specifically sanctioned ‘free speech zones’ I am reserving the right to restrict elements of the second amendment in my own classroom.
If you feel that it is somehow at all appropriate to bring a gun to class (hint: it is not—this is absurd, antisocial, and frightening behavior), you are restricted to spending your time in class in my "second amendment zone" a 3x3 taped square on the floor in the very back of the classroom, that will be shared with all other gun carriers. This zone also does not include a desk, because desks are reserved for students who respect the personal and psychological safety of their classmates and instructor.
Here's what the space looked like:
One University of Utah instructor wanted concealed carriers to stand in this 3x3 taped area in the classroom. But that's not bias? pic.twitter.com/CsYmTEreZ8
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) August 22, 2018
Utah State Rep. Karianne Lisonbee received a copy of the weapons policy and shared it on her personal Facebook page, along with the following message:
I am livid. A University of Utah Professor doesn't understand the Bill of Rights and University policy on free speech - which is disturbing enough. But even more egregious, she is seeking to break state law and deprive students of their rights. Please share.
Students on the University of Utah campus are allowed to carry firearms on campus as long as they have a license to do so.
Rep. Lisonbee shared the following update with her followers:
Update: Great news! I have been assured that this teacher has been reprimanded for publishing a syllabus against University policy. She was asked and has issued an apology to her students. Her syllabus has been retracted by the University and they are committed to making sure that she receives proper training. Thank you to the University and to the brave students who raised this issue. The price of liberty is constant vigilance. Please share!
A spokesperson for the University provided Campus Reform with the following statement:
University of Utah officials recently learned that a graduate teaching assistant included a statement in an undergraduate course syllabus that violated both state law and university policy. The statement has been removed from the syllabus and students in the class have been alerted to the error.
The graduate student instructor has apologized and has received additional training about the university's policies and will not teach this semester and will instead have other assignments.
The approval of course syllabuses is handled by individual departments, and syllabuses are expected to comply with all university policies.
Both university policy and state law allows students to carry a firearm on campus as long as they are licensed to do so.