The University of Louisiana (UL) Lafayette campus dropped its bid to make downtown Lafayette a “gun-free zone” by designating the Lafayette Science Museum and temporary student housing a school zone after a threat of a lawsuit by Gun Owners of America (GOA).
Under Louisiana law, anything within a 1000 ft radius of a school is considered a “safe school zone” where firearms are banned. Certain agencies and organizations in Louisiana have tried to exploit this law, including the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), which designated a police station a “school.” GOA threatened to sue the NOPD, and on the eve of the lawsuit, the NOPD dropped its claim that the police station was a school.
UL tried to do the same thing with the Lafayette Science Museum and two rented hotels in downtown Lafayette. The school put up “safe school zone” signs, making it illegal to carry a firearm in the downtown area. Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet said that the Lafayette Police Department (LPD) would start enforcing the ban on firearms in the downtown area that week.
Acting on behalf of GOA, Lafayette-based attorney Joshua Barnhill sent a letter on August 22 to Mayor-President Monique Boulet, Interim Police Chief Paul Trouard, and university representatives demanding that the University take down the signs or face the legal wrath of the gun rights organization who have had multiple legal victories across the country. GOA gave the city until Tuesday to remove the signs and not enforce the mandate.
City-Parish Attorney Pat Ottinger claimed that the deadline was unreasonable and the city didn’t have time to respond to the gun rights group’s assertions. GOA would not budge, and the deadline would remain the same. Even though the attorney said GOA didn’t give them enough time to respond, the city and University backed down after removing the signs late Tuesday, replacing them with signs stating that the buildings are “gun-free zones,” but the surrounding areas are not.
The Mayor-President’s office and LPD are not responding to the media’s requests for comment, but the University did release a statement to the public. UL stated that after seeking further legal guidance, they realized that the University could not ban guns outside the buildings because they do not own the buildings. They said they work not to infringe on any constitutional rights.
The University’s statement reads:
Louisiana law, R.S. 14:95.6, requires universities to post signs identifying firearm-free zones at university campus entrances. The state law is ambiguous in defining what constitutes a “campus,” so the University of Louisiana at Lafayette looked to the federal Clery Act, that governs campus crime reporting, for a definition. The Clery Act definition of campus expressly includes property owned or controlled by the University, which led to the posting of the “Safe School Zone” signs.
The University sought additional clarifications from the Acadiana legislative delegation and their legal staff. This led to the determination that under state law, the definition of campus may not extend to property that the University does not own. Accordingly, the University has removed the “Safe School Zone” signs erected at the Science Museum and at the hotels being used as temporary student housing, because they are not owned by the University.
The University works to avoid infringing on any constitutional rights while also ensuring the safety and welfare of our students. Therefore, as authorized by state law, the University has replaced “Safe School Zone” signs with “Weapons-Free Facility” signage that precludes firearms within these facilities but does not establish any zones outside them.
This change might not satisfy gun rights activists because guns are banned inside the science museum, but the University claims the building is part of the campus. It remains to be seen if more pressure will be placed on the University to remove the gun-free signs inside the museum.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
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