The Michigan State Legislature has ruled that no local unit of government (i.e. county, city, town) may impose laws or ordinances concerning firearms that are more restrictive than state laws. However, Oakland University’s ordinance does just that. Does the administration believe they should have more power than the cities of Rochester or Detroit?

I’m sure every student and faculty member appreciates the job that the OUPD does to keep our campus safe. However, unless an officer is in a classroom when a gunman starts shooting, the only thing the police will be able to do is deal with the aftermath. In most of the mass public shooting cases, the police don’t arrive in time to actually stop the gunman.

I’m not saying that if concealed weapons were allowed on campus that violent attacks would not happen or that they would be stopped before someone is killed or raped. However, I (and Students for Concealed Carry) believe that any individual who is trained and licensed in accordance with state law, to legally carry a concealed weapon for personal protection, should not have that right taken away because they cross an imaginary line as they walk onto campus. The only thing “pistol free zones” accomplish is disarming law-abiding citizens. Criminals do not follow laws or ordinances.

The article states that “this is not a partisan issue; it’s an issue of human life.” I agree. Personal protection is an issue of human life and it should not be infringed.

Jeff Orin Lamkin

Junior, Sociology

President – Students for Concealed Carry at Oakland University

If OUPD Chief Lucido believes “our rules regulating firearms are correct”, he hasn’t spoken with Victor Zambardi, Vice President of Oakland University’s General Counsel {sic}, who, along with OUPD Campus Police Lieutenant Mel Gilroy, found that OU’s firearms ordinance “did not comport with state statute” and is therefore unenforceable.

Perhaps Chief Lucido will don his investigatory cap as to the recent dismissal without prejudice of a concealing a handgun charge against a Wayne State University student.

The State’s contention was that the student was carrying in a pistol free zone; the student’s defense was that the hallway is not a PFZ. The judge found that the State’s case had no legal standing. Chief Lucido is bound by Michigan rulings and law and is not “backed up” by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Your editorial correctly noted that Michigan law prohibits concealed pistol licensees from carrying concealed pistols in college classrooms and dorms but failed to mention that according to Michigan State Police Legal Update No. 86, unconcealed pistols are legal in classrooms and dorms by CPL holders.

I provided the Oakland Post this information last semester. How sad and unprofessional those emotions of current events cloud your journalistic judgment and you renege on written promises to freelancers, denying critical balance to readers. I will provide “The Story the Oakland Post Does Not Want You To Read” to anyone who e-mails a request.

I hope Oakland University institutes a ban on poorly reasoned and researched editorials and that the ban stays in place.

Joseph Corlett

Junior, Writing and Rhetoric

[email protected]