A University of Utah grad assistant lost her teaching position after including anti-Second Amendment language in her syllabus and warning that students who legally carried concealed would be made to stand in a 3′ by 3′ square in the back of the room.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that assistant’s course outline warned that the 3′ by 3′ square “does not include a desk, because desks are reserved for students who respect the personal and psychological safety of their classmates and instructor.”
The assistant explained, “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.”
She added, “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 3×3 taped square on the floor in the very back of the classroom, that will be shared with all other gun carriers.”
University of Utah spokesman Chris Nelson said the “weapons policy” language was removed from the syllabus on Tuesday and the grad assistant was relieved of her teaching duties. The assistant has apologized and “received additional training.”
Utah adopted campus carry in 2004 and limits on free speech were abolished in 2017.
State Rep. Karianne Lisonbee (R-Clearfield) was outraged over the grad assistant’s actions and statements. Lisonbee referenced the assistant, saying she “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.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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