[url]http://www.sltrib.com/2002/apr/04182002/utah/utah.htm[/url]

Don't let the door hit him in the ass on the way out.

The text...

U. Professor to Quit If Campus Has Guns



BY DAN HARRIE
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

   Prominent University of Utah Law Professor John Flynn vowed Wednesday he will resign if the school is forced by the Legislature and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to accept concealed guns on campus.
   Flynn predicted others will do the same, creating an "exodus" of faculty at the same time the U.'s reputation is pummeled among potential recruits.
   "Trying to recruit someone nationally when we're known as the only major university in the country where guns are allowed on campus would be disastrous," Flynn said. "It will be very destructive to the university."
   Flynn made the comments during a debate with Shurtleff at the U. Law School. The longtime faculty member, who said he is three to four years from retirement, made clear he was speaking only for himself, not the administration.
   But university spokesman Fred Esplin said President Bernie Machen and other U. leaders share Flynn's fears about the guns-on-campus issue bruising the institution's credibility.
   "Definitely," Esplin said in an interview. "There is concern about the way the U. of U. would be perceived among our sister institutions around the country, and our ability to recruit."
   Machen last month filed a "friendly lawsuit" against Shurtleff seeking a definitive court ruling on whether the U.'s gun-ban violates a Utah statute. The law permits legal concealed weapons everywhere except a few "secure facilities," such as prisons, mental institutions and airports.
   The showdown over gun rights has received widespread publicity, including coverage in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
   "There are a lot of eyes on Utah on this one," said Esplin. "There's a lot of curiosity and raised eyebrows wondering what's going on out here. Most people, quite frankly, can't believe it."
   Shurtleff, who believes the university is in clear violation of state law by banning legally concealed weapons, doesn't buy arguments that forcing a change in policy would damage the school. "Not at all," says the state's top prosecutor, a graduate of the U. Law School.

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continue...

   "I think there are some professors who have the same irrational fear of guns [as Flynn] . . . that may not come. But I challenge the university to stand up for the Constitution and the law and for the rule of law and for the Legislature's right to determine what those laws are."
   Shurtleff said the current federal court dispute has implications beyond the state's flagship school. Salt Lake Community College is the only public institution of higher learning in Utah that has a stated policy of allowing concealed weapons on campus.
   The attorney general compared the no-gun policy to anti-Arab discrimination in the wake of Sept. 11. While many people legitimately feared young Arab men in the wake of the terrorist attacks, "you would never kick them out of the classroom. You would protect those civil rights."
   "I'm not saying, and I have never said I think guns ought to be on university campuses or in schools. I don't think that's the place for them," said Shurtleff. "The problem is we have criminals who don't obey the law. They are not going to obey your little policy."
   Shurtleff repeated arguments he has made before that the campus would be safer with concealed weapons present, based on their deterrent effect on crime. He cited the studies of former University of Chicago professor John Lott to back up his claim.
   Flynn disputed Lott's conclusion, saying other scholars have published findings that "convincingly trashed" his study work.
   As to Shurtleff's comment about an "irrational fear" of guns, Flynn said, "I've seen what guns can do. I've felt what guns can do. I've been shot. That's why I don't want them around -- period."
   Later he said that as a youngster he was shot in the shoulder in a gun accident that also killed a friend of his. But he said his opposition to guns on campus stems not from his personal experience, but from his belief that the presence of arms would interfere with the academic freedom and independence of the university.
 

Yup.....

Hope this sets precedent for other school to allow.....

I'm thinking of emailing the writer to ask what happened..... "idol threats or .... did he do it."

If this guy is so smart, why isn't he teaching at Harvard or Stanford or Chicago??

I can tell you one thing, there will be no shortage of applicants, law professor jobs typically pay well and are highly sought after.  Most law profs are expected to have a PhD in an academic field plus a law degree plus clerkship experience plus publications.

What do you want to bet he pulls an Alaec Baldwin and doesn't leave after it passes?

GunLvr

Buhbye.

nana-na-na
nana-na-na
hey-hey
goodbye!

Yea, and Baldwin, (along with some other forgotten celebs) will leave the country if Bush is elected.

Well, I emailed the writer of the story.  I'm wondering what happened.........

Most universities are havens for liberals anyway. Any method that helps get rid of a few is allright by me!