Last Wednesday, Lafayette College officials received a letter from a lawyer representing Gun Owners of America (GOA) and revoked the “gun-free zone” designation of the Lafayette Museum of Science in the center of Lafayette, Louisiana. The designated area was a 1,000-foot radius, and included two nearby hotels used as dormitories by college students. Lafayette (population 121,000) has many colleges (about 20,000 students), so this designation made almost the entire city a “gun-free zone.”
The letter, sent by the law firm of Joshua Barnhill to the town mayor, the city and university police chiefs, and the university president, was shocking.
On behalf of Gun Owners of America, I urge you to revoke the erroneous “designation” of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Science Museum and a 1,000 foot radius surrounding it as a “firearms free zone” and to immediately remove and correct certain signs and online maps that reflect the same.
You appear to be relying on the false premise that the Science Museum is part of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's campus and is therefore a “gun-free zone.”
it's not.
Why not:
The university does not own the museum. The university operates the museum under a lease, not as a school. The university does not show the museum as part of the campus on the campus map. The state's Attorney General has declared that the museum “does not fall within the definition of a 'gun-free zone.'” According to the Supreme Court's Bruen decision, citizens have a constitutional right to not only “keep” but also to “carry” weapons in public. States have “preemption” laws that prohibit entities such as universities from enacting laws regarding firearms that are stricter than state laws.
Therefore, Barnhill wrote, “any attempt by LPD (Lafayette Police Department) to enforce a newly 'designated' 'gun-free zone' around the Science Museum is unlawful and unconstitutional.”
Response deadline is 5 days
Barnhill ordered the agency to act within five days if his demands are not met. “The GOA has authorized my office to sue and seek all appropriate remedies,” he said.
He reminded them that the GOA had successfully thwarted a similar attempt by the City of New Orleans to “designate” large parts of the French Quarter as a “gun-free zone.”
GOA previously filed a similar lawsuit against the City of New Orleans before the city overturned its illegal designation of police stations as “gun-free zones.”
He ended the letter with:
Please read this letter carefully: your actions between today (Thursday, August 22nd) and Tuesday (August 27th) will determine who will be named as a defendant in GOA's impending lawsuit (currently being prepared).
The letter was sure to spur the officials he addressed to action: They complained that five days was not enough time to consider how to respond, but Barnhill remained adamant.
The authorities have retreated — to an extent.
The university responded officially on Wednesday, August 28, after seeking “further clarification” from various sources.
The university removed “Safe School Zone” signs at the Science Museum and at a nearby hotel being used as temporary student housing, because the hotels are not owned by the university.
But they added:
The University has replaced its “Safe School Zone” signs with “Weapon Free Facilities” signs, which prohibit firearms on these premises but do not create any (such “gun free”) zones outside the premises.
While the university does not own the Science Museum, it claims it is part of the campus, and therefore is part of the campus-wide “gun-free zone” designation, Ammoland author John Crump said, “It remains to be seen whether there will be further pressure on the university to remove gun-free signs in the museum.”
This is a partial victory for the Second Amendment, but it reveals the stubbornness of its opponents who continue to seek to eviscerate it.
