By Jacquelyn Springgay
BYU students may live in a state where guns can be carried almost anywhere, but that isn?t the case on campus, where carrying a gun is prohibited.
Many students come to BYU and bring their firearms with them. Each student has a different reason: hunting, sport, protection, etc.
?I have a concealed weapon for protection,? said Marcus Milligan, a BYU student from Baytown, Texas. ?I have a shotgun for hunting.?
Whatever the reason is that a student brings their gun to school, they must follow certain rules and regulations.
Firearms are allowed in on-campus housing and off-campus housing as long as certain procedures are followed. A person living on campus needs to check in firearms to the management of the residence hall in which they will reside, according to the BYU Handbook. The weapons are stored at university storage facilities. Students are allowed to check their firearms out using the proper checkout procedures to use them off campus.
A single student living off-campus has different procedures to keep firearms at approved campus housing.
?To have my gun , I had to get the landlord?s permission and permis-sion from all of my roommates,? Milligan said.
Milligan?s roommates gave him the permission he needed to have a gun in their apartment.
?It doesn?t bother me because I know the owner and how careful he is with his equipment,? said John Mills, a roommate of Milligan?s from Kingsport, Tenn. ?He always keeps them locked up.?
Students who live in private homes have no rules or regulations.
Ty Williams, a BYU student majoring in facilities management, lives in a private home with his wife Brooke. He has a gun for protection, but also because he used to be a police officer. Brooke said she is fine with having a gun in their home now that her husband has training.
?At first I was more leery because he didn?t have any training,? she said.
Even though guns may be stored properly in housing units, BYU prohibits the possession of firearms on university property.
Only specific people are allowed to carry firearms on BYU campus.
The University Police can have a gun on campus at all times. Members of the campus ROTC can have them during ?official ROTC functions, when authorized by the professor of Military Science in strict accordance with existing military regulations,? according to the BYU Handbook. ?Members of the BYUSA-sanctioned shooting club may possess and/or carry firearms and ammunition as part of a regularly scheduled activity as prescribed by the club charter.?
Utah law enforcement officers or a federal law enforcement agency can also carry firearms, but it doesn?t matter if the weapon is concealed or not. They may carry firearms even if they do not have a concealed weapon permit.