HB 972, which decriminalizes campus concealed carry, passed in committee and is now on its way to the Senate floor. This is momentum resulting from years of hard work that we can not allow to go to waste. Please reach out to every Senator and urge each one of them to support campus carry. It is time we quit making Texas students sitting ducks.

In what some are considering one of the greatest ironies in recent history, campus concealed carry is just now gaining traction in Texas. The Texas House of Representatives passed HB 972 in session yesterday. The bill, which decriminalizes campus concealed carry, is now on its way to the Senate.

Senator John Whitmire, as chair of the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, blocked campus carry pronouncing it dead earlier this session. We can not allow that to happen with the House version. We can not allow one person to single-handedly endanger the lives of Texas college students, faculty, and staff.

Please reach out to every Senator and urge each one of them to support campus carry. It is time we quit making Texas students sitting ducks.

The Montana legislature has passed campus carry with pre-emption (HB 240), and the bill is now on the way to the governor’s desk. Please take a moment to reach out to the governor and ask him to sign HB 240. Please call, email, fax, and Facebook him. Let him know that it’s time students aren’t forced to check their rights at the admissions office. Support Montana HB 240.

Email: governor@mt.gov
Toll-free: 855-318-1330
Phone: 406-444-3111
FAX: 406-444-5529
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GovSteveBullock

Nevada students need your help. The Assembly Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Nevada Assembly  Bill 143 over a week ago and have still yet to schedule a working session or vote on it. The bill will not be debated or voted on if it doesn’t make the schedule by tomorrow’s deadline.

We can’t allow that to happen! We need to let them know this is NOT acceptable. This bill deserves a debate AND a vote. Please take a moment to reach out to legislators in support of campus concealed carry.

• Assemblymen Frierson: (775) 684-8537 & Jason.Frierson@asm.state.nv.us
• Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick: (775) 684-8509 &
  Marilyn.Kirkpatrick@asm.state.nv.us
• Committee Phone Number: (775) 684-8566
• Committee Email: AsmJUD@asm.state.nv.us

Let’s not allow the Nevada legislature to create another story like Amanda’s.

Empty Holster Protest is less than two weeks away. It’s time to put things into high gear if you want to have a successful protest. Following these simple steps will help ensure a successful protest.

First, focus on fliering. There should be fliers going up all around your campus. You should flier, flier, flier and when you’re done, flier some more. Don’t be afraid to get your friends and people outside of your campus chapter to help flier.

There are some great flier ideas at http://concealedcampus.org/empty-holster-protest/. You’ll notice a couple of them include QR codes. QR codes are easy to make. There are loads of free generators on the internet. Consider making one that points to your group’s Facebook page and then use your page to generate interest, build excitement, and spread information about the upcoming protest.

In addition to fliering, you will want to contact the appropriate police departments and local media.

University police often have difficult jobs. Make their lives easier by letting the departments know students will be wearing empty holsters during the week and where you plan to have your “flagship” sign protest. You don’t need permission, but a little heads up will help everything run smoothly.

Alerting the media as well is one of the best ways to ensure maximum exposure. A sample is attached. Media Advisories are just that; an advisory. They need to be short and concise while still getting the point across. They should be no more than a page in length. You should send one of these to every local media outlet possible, including your school newspaper. Just visit their websites for contact information. Don’t be afraid to send one out the week before and the day prior as well.

On the day you plan to actively protest with signs and distribute literature there are a couple of things you can do to help reduce trouble. First, you should be courteous and respectful to everyone you encounter. If someone approaches you from a position of vitriol and berates you, just smile and move on to the next person. If someone engages you respectfully, then by all means speak with them and hand them some literature. People who aren’t engaging you are watching. Your demeanor will speak volumes to them.

Consider getting a digital voice recorder and record your interactions during the active protest. Actually, it’s a good idea to do so all the time. In Ohio, a conversation can be recorded as long as one person knows about it. Laws vary, so make sure you check your local laws.

If the police or a university official tells you to move or otherwise stop your activities, do so. Don’t argue. Don’t debate. The time for conflict resolution is not during an active law enforcement encounter. Get the officer’s badge number or university official’s name and seek appropriate remedy afterward. Of course, if you notify them beforehand, you probably won’t encounter this.

Use your group’s Facebook page to build excitement and interest by posting photos and updates during the event itself.

Immediately after the active protest, send out a press release and a few photos the day after the protest to all of your local media. Attached is a sample. Press releases can be two pages in length but work best when they are one page. It helps add legitimacy if the contact information of someone not named in the press release is used. You can still mention the person named in the release as in the sample.

ORLANDO, March 18 – Students were evacuated from a student housing building and classes were cancelled at the University of Central Florida this morning after an apparent mass shooting attempt.

James Seevakumaran died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just after midnight in what appeared to be a failed attack on the Main Campus of UCF. After a fire alarm went off at 12:20AM, Seevakumaran threatened his roommate with a firearm. The roommate then proceeded to barricade himself in his room and dial 911, alerting police who were responding to the alarm.

According to University of Central Florida Police Chief Richard Beary, the shooter killed himself moments later. When officers arrived on the scene, four improvised explosive devices were found in a backpack in the room with the body. Beary believes the fire alarm was activated by Seevakumaran to get other students into the open for an attack.

Zachary Zalneraitis, Florida State Director for Students for Concealed Carry, commented, “We commend the rapid response of the University Police Department to this incident. However, this only further illustrates the point that campus gun bans do not keep criminals from bringing firearms onto campuses illegally. They merely disarm lawfully armed adults who wish to protect themselves on a daily basis.”

CONTACT:
Kurt Mueller
Acting Director of Public Relations
Students for Concealed Carry
media@concealedcampus.org

Zachary Zalneraitis
Florida State Director
Southeast Regional Director
Students for Concealed Carry

ABOUT:
Students for Concealed Carry is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprised of over 40,000 supporters which advocates for legal concealed carry on college campuses.

Let’s help restore the right to self-defense on Texas’ college campuses!

Texas campus carry, HB972, was delayed in committee last Friday in an effort to hear from more constituents. Please take a minute to contact committee members with your support for HB972. You can find electronic communication methods on their respective pages.

• Rep. Joseph Pickett – (512) 463-0596
• Rep. Allen Fletcher -  (512) 463-0661
• Rep. Philip Cortez – (512) 463-0269
• Rep. Tony Dale – (512) 463-0696
• Rep. Dan Flynn – (512) 463-0880
• Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt – (512) 463-0682
• Rep. George Lavender – (512) 463-0692
• Rep. Kenneth Sheets – (512) 463-0244
• Rep. Ron Simmons – (512) 463-0478

Students in Montana need your help. HB240, campus carry authority, passed in the House last month and will be heard in the Senate’s Education and Cultural Resources committee tomorrow. The bill clarifies the authority of the boards of regents with respect to campus concealed carry and will restore the students’ right to self-defense state-wide.

Please take a few minutes to call and email the committee members with your support for HB240:

• Peterson, Jim (R – Ch)
  (406) 374-2277
  jimpetersonranch@gmail.com
• Jones, Llew (R – V Ch)
  (406) 289-0345
  lcjones@3rivers.net
• Arntzen, Elsie (R)
  (406) 534-2780
  emarntzen@gmail.com
• Brown, Taylor (R)
  (406) 348-2070
  taylor@northernbroadcasting.com
• Driscoll, Robyn (D)
  (406) 272-2403
• Facey, Tom (D)
  (406) 728-6814
  facey_tom@hotmail.com
• Lewis, Dave (R)
  (406) 459-9751
  davelewisd@aol.com
• Moore, Eric (R)
  (406) 234-3562
  FDM7098@gmail.com
• Stewart-Peregoy, Sharon (D)
  (406) 639-2198
• Jonathon Windy Boy (D)
  (406)444-4800

Denver, March 9, 2013—Students for Concealed Carry is pleased to report that Senator Rollie Heath has tabled Colorado House Bill 13-1226 until two days after the end of the legislative session, effectively killing this misguided legislation that would have stripped students of their right to self-defense by banning concealed carry on college campuses.

Concealed carry on university campuses in Colorado first became legal in 2003. In 2012, a landmark decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in Students for Concealed Carry on Campus LLC v. Regents of University of Colorado overturned illegal campus gun bans and extended this protection to all public campuses in Colorado. With the defeat of this bill, students will continue to have access to the most effective means of self-defense.

Students for Concealed Carry’s dedicated members and other activists have worked hard to shine a light on House Bill 13-1226 and show how disarming students won’t stop criminals. They packed committee meetings, filled inboxes, and kept the phones ringing to make sure legislators heard their opposition to this bill. Their hard work and dedication helped bring national attention to this issue and pressure lawmakers to make the right decision. We’re glad Colorado’s legislators heard the call and decided to stand with students to preserve our right to self-defense on campus.

The defeat of HB 13-1226 affirms that Colorado students, faculty, and staff remain equal before the law, and are not relegated to second-class status just because they want to further their education. As we’ve seen time and time again, criminals don’t care about lines on a map and won’t obey “gun-free zones.” Stopping this bill in its tracks acknowledges that reality.

HB 13-1226 would have done nothing to stop criminals from brining weapons onto college campuses while leaving students defenseless. Withdrawing this bill was the right decision for students and the right decision for Colorado.

Students for Concealed Carry remains dedicated to keeping self-defense legal on Colorado campuses and working to advance similar common-sense reforms throughout the United States.

CONTACT:
Kurt Mueller
Acting Director of Public Relations
Students for Concealed Carry
media@concealedcampus.org

ABOUT:
Students for Concealed Carry is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprised of over 40,000 supporters which advocates for legal concealed carry on college campuses.

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Members of Colorado Students for Concealed Carry stood in disbelief as the Colorado Senate State, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee passed House Bill 13-1226. The bill, introduced by Representative Claire Levy, will ban licensed concealed carry in buildings utilized by universities as well as at open air university events. The final vote of 3-2 narrowly moves the bill to the full Senate who is expected to consider it as early as next week.

Committee Chairwoman, Senator Angela Giron cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the proposed campus carry ban exclaiming in tears that “the testimony tonight has been very compelling, but I made a promise [to vote yes]!”

Colorado has allowed licensed concealed carry on college campuses for nearly a decade, but lawmakers in the Centennial State reacting to recent mass shootings last year seek to reverse that provision despite no ill effects, a drop in both overall crime rates generally and sexual assault rates specifically after carry on campus was permitted, and no permitted student ever causing a disruption with a firearm on campus.

In addition to concerned citizens, a coalition of Colorado Sheriffs provided testimony in favor of campus concealed carry. Summit County Sheriff John Minor asked in his testimony, “What is this Sheriff supposed to do when his two daughters go to college? Instruct them to break the law to ensure their safety?”

Students for Concealed Carry is troubled the committee moved forward with the ban despite statistics showing a reduction in crime and strong student support for the right to carry a concealed handgun. Crime at Colorado State University decreased dramatically after concealed carry was allowed. Perhaps that’s why students support it nearly four to one according to a recent survey conducted on CSU’s campus.

Students for Concealed Carry has recieved volumous feedback from our members have been telling us that the Senators’ emails and voicemails are constantly full. Students and other concerned citizens attended the committee hearing in droves. Passing this bill demonstrates no regard for the voice of their constituents, trusted law enforcement officers, the constitution, or what has worked for the last decade.

Senators Giron, Jones, and Hudak voted in favor of the bill while Senators Harvey and Crowder voted against it.

Further updates will be forthcoming in the near future.

CONTACT:
Kurt Mueller
Acting Director of Public Relations
Students for Concealed Carry
media@concealedcampus.org

ABOUT:
Students for Concealed Carry is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprised of over 40,000 supporters which advocates for legal concealed carry on college campuses.

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