LANSING, Mich. — Lansing Community College revised their weapons policy, making it clear that people with concealed carry permits are not allowed to have guns on campus and specifically stating that violators may face serious consequences, such as a criminal prosecution.
“We tried to clear up the language. And then we also wanted to spell out that whether you're a visitor, a student, or an employee, if you came on campus with a weapon, that that was a violation of our policy, and you could be either suspended or removed from campus,” said Andrew Abood, a trustee of the Lansing Community College and an attorney at the Abood Law Firm.
Only members of the police department or active law enforcement officials are allowed to carry guns on campus. The changes approved by the board last month state specifically that the policy applies to those who are allowed to carry concealed and that anyone who violates the policy will not only be removed from college property but also be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability.
“We felt that we ought to put the individuals and citizens on notice that there could be other possible civil or criminal penalties associated with that outside of action taken by Lansing Community College like they could be prosecuted by the prosecutor or the city attorney or the attorney general,” Abood said.
Abood said that Lansing Community College has been going through all their policies for the past year and that they were not specifically concerned about their weapons policy.
Abood, however, was concerned about the student’s safety.
“I was concerned that despite the fact that we have police presence on our campus, we that they can’t always protect our students and our employees. And that if a student or employee or somebody on campus had a PPO against somebody and faced a real and present danger, obviously, that person may feel like its necessity to not necessarily carry a gun on campus but carry one in their car with a with an appropriate concealed weapons permit,” Abood said.
Abood said that they did take his concern into consideration, “but the policy encourages anybody who has a PPO to have it registered with the LCC police department so that they can be on the lookout for the respondent of such a such an order.”
Abood further said that he is confident that the LCC administration and police department are vigilant in protecting its students and employees. The Board of Trustees and the College now perform a full review of all board policies every two years.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
