Update: Lon Morris College student arrested after loaded AK-47 found in dorm room (TX)

[jpak]

http://www.cbs19.tv/Global/story.asp?S=14070377

An East Texas college student is expelled and arrested after a firearm is found in his dorm room.

Police say the gun was a loaded AK-47. It was found Saturday during random security checks in one of the dorms at Lon Morris College. Monday, the school credited its security measures for finding the firearm before someone got hurt.

<snip>

"They probably could have hurt everybody on campus," Kiyana Lockheart said.

"Of course we're shocked. It is not in keeping with the expectation we have of our students," Ansley said.

<more>

Campus police did their job - no student CCW required

yup

[Euromutt]

1. Who the fuck is Kiyana Lockheart, or Rhett Ansley?

The article seems to fail to identify their roles in this, or to explain why their opinions are worth anything other than what we paid to read them.

And gosh, isn't it comforting to know that non-governmental entities don't have to respect the Bill of Rights? That there are still places in this wonderful country where private thugs can conduct "routine" searches of people's residences without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or warrants without having to worry about the occupants' civil rights? Just warms your heart, doesn't it?

[Glassunion]

4. It's a good Christian School... Civil Rights need not apply...

I checked their class offerings, they have 14 classes where one *might* learn about Civil Rights.
They have 79 Physical Education classes. The offer more "jogging" classes(2) then law classes(1).

Reminds me of the Project Housing Sweeps of the mid 90's.

[MineralMan]

8. It was a dorm room. Virtually every college in the country prohibits

firearms in dorm rooms.

[Euromutt]

33. The fact that it's common doesn't mean it's right

And it's not so much the prohibition on firearms in dorms I have problem with as the "routine inspections" of people's private living space.

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. If they have dorm contracts like the ones I am familiar with it's not an abridgment of rights

The universities with which I am familiar make it very clear you have a limited expectation of privacy when living on their property and that such security checks are a possibility. As long as you know up front...

[Euromutt]

35. It might not be perceived as an abridgment of rights...

...but frankly, I still think it is.

[Bold Lib]

37. Can a contract that abolishes one's civil rights be enforced?

I'm thinking of a contract that would require all dorm residents to vote republican or in favor of any and all bond issues dealing with the university.

[CreekDog]

38. if you come to my house, leave your gun or get out

:hi:

[oneshooter]

40. Why would I want to visit your home? Can you give me a rational answer? n/t

[CreekDog]

45. because nobody will have a gun and you don't have to be all panicky that someone will shoot you

:hi:

[YllwFvr]

47. so you could gaurantee my safety

for life at your house?

[CreekDog]

48. a gun can't guarantee your safety

:hi:

[YllwFvr]

50. gives me a chance

that you cant give me

[Bold Lib]

41. We are not discussing YOUR house now are we???

Please stay on topic and don't move the goal posts.

[CreekDog]

44. you're telling me to stay on topic, here in the gun forum?

You must be new here. :rofl:

[Pacifist Patriot]

39. If you're equating a contract that informs students they do not have an...

expectation of privacy when it comes to potential searches for dangerous or illegal objects to a voting requirement I'm afraid I can't continue the discussion.

[Bold Lib]

42. Your right. Because your argument falls apart when compared to other civil rights.

The only exception I know of where a person can sign away their civil rights is in the military - and even then there are some protections. Public housing have lost several "no gun" policy arguments in the courts. Your domicile is your home. You cannot be forced to sign away your civil rights as a condition of living there. Such an "agreement" cannot be legally enforced.

[kudzu22]

49. Absolutely

You're quite free to waive your rights in exchange for cheap housing on campus. If you don't like it, there are off-campus apartments you might look into.

[jpak]

16. Students that don't want guns on campus

yup

[Glassunion]

22. Student that want guns on campus.

yes

[jpak]

23. He got expelled and they took away his AK

yup

[Glassunion]

24. Ok. This has nothing to do with CCW on campus.

There are studens that was firearms on campus.

Yes

[jpak]

26. "There are studens that was firearms on campus." What?

:wow:

[Glassunion]

27. Sorry, typo... "want" instead of "was"...

[jpak]

28. That was pretty funny

:)

[Katya Mullethov]

46. A regular comedic tour de force

You should see him trip and fall down !

[Euromutt]

34. Congratulations, you've just demonstrated you haven't read your own damn article

Ansley, as you evidently didn't notice, has the honorific "Reverend," so he's a clergyman. A clergyman at a Methodist college; is he likely to be a student? Or is he more likely to be an administrator of some sort.

Yet another reason not to take you seriously; you don't even read the articles with which you spam this forum.

[OHdem10]

2. Oh my goodness, Students need Ak 47s on Campus to protect

themselves these days???? Things must be pretty bad out there??
Sarcasm.

I am not anti-gun, but it is time the NRA or someone
start policing themselves and giving instructions
to there members.

If the NRA supports this idea, I question their judgment.

[AtheistCrusader]

5. And can you cite the NRA supporting nuts with guns in places they are legally forbidden

from possessing them?

[jpak]

9. But..but..the NRA and republics are pushing bills to allow guns everywhere they are not allowed

They want high school students to have guns in their cars on campus

They want open carry in pubic libraries

They want to BAN municipalities from restricting guns from public buildings

They want CCW on college campuses

They want guns in churches

They want open carry in family restaurants

That is their agenda - and they have gone too far

yup

[AtheistCrusader]

11. None of those items apply to the criminal act in the OP.

Not even CCW on college campuses. An AK-47 isn't terribly concealable, and most CCW permits are actually Concealed Pistol Licenses, not Concealed Anything That Launches Projectiles licenses.

Edit: Confirmed, Texas has a Concealed HANDGUN license.

So no, you're wrong again.

[jpak]

14. He got an AK with 2 clips into the dorm - it was concealable enough

yup

[AtheistCrusader]

18. It was illegal, and the NRA isn't campaigning to make that act legal.

So yeah, still wrong.

yup

[OHdem10]

12. Thanks. The NRA is famous for saying Guns do not kill; people do.

The NRA is a membership organization. Is it not
time they have some standards. Right now the standard
appears to be--if you can pay for it, you can have a gun.

They fight background checks. They bear some responsibility.

[PavePusher]

19. Cite to evidence supporting your assertions, please? n/t

[PavePusher]

20. Cite to evidence supporting your assertions, please? n/t

[AtheistCrusader]

21. Wrong.

The NRA has supported background checks, and the NICS system, and even registration for NFA or fully automatic weapons.

You should probably do some research on this subject before you smear the NRA.

The only 'background checks' the NRA opposes, are PRIVATE TRANSFERS between non-gun-dealer individuals. Such as handing a gun down to your kids, or selling a gun to a co-worker, etc.

An act that is covered by federal law prohibiting the transfer of a firearm to a person you know to be ineligible, such as a felon.

AND elements within the NRA have pushed to make NICS available to private individuals, so we can conduct a check on a person for transfer purposes as well, but privacy laws forbid it.

[Callisto32]

30. OMG-No.

Look up the history of NICS for a start.

[DonP]

17. All blather, all the time - no NRA cites - as usual.

[rl6214]

32. Which republic is pushing bills to allow guns everywhere?

And why would we care what other countries push for anyway?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. random? my ass.

10,000 kids, 5,000 dorm rooms, and they RANDOMLY pick the nut with a loaded AK47. . . .

R i i i i g h t .

Tell me again about this santa claus dude. He does WHAT through every chimney in the world?

[AtheistCrusader]

6. "Campus police did their job - no student CCW required" LOL

That's because he didn't USE the firearm. It was found in his freakin' closet, UNUSED.

A good thing, but don't pretend it's something other than what it is.

[lawodevolution]

7. A guy illegally has a gun on campus

How does this effect CCW holders?

[MineralMan]

10. What colleges allow firearms in their dorm rooms? I don't know

of any. I know of a helluva lot where they're prohibited in dorm rooms.

[young_at_heart]

15. The state of Texas is getting quite a reputation

There are so many negative areas of life in that state!

[armueller2001]

25. Ignorant reporting

I'm about 99.99% sure it wasn't an "AK47", it was a semi-automatic AK47 replica.

True AK's are rare, require extensive hoops to jump through and cost at least $15,000.

[Atypical Liberal]

29. "Campus police did their job"

Firstly, I will say that I do not support students keeping firearms in their dorms. Not because there is anything particularly wrong with it, but because 1) you generally don't get to pick your roommate, and your roommate may not be comfortable with a firearm kept in their room and 2) keeping the firearm secure in a dormitory environment could be difficult.

But the first thing that struck me about the article is that the police on this college campus conduct random searches of dorm rooms. What? I was only a traditional college student for a couple of years but we never had random searches of our rooms. Personally, I find that idea abhorrent. If I rent an apartment, or even a hotel room, or even a car, I am still protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. But if I rent a dorm room, I am not?

Also I'd be willing to bet that this was not, in fact, an "AK-47". This makes a great news story, but it's highly unlikely. More likely is that it is a semi-automatic civilian copy. It's just another semi-automatic rifle.

[Callisto32]

31. There was no state actor.

Constitutional protections only apply against state actors. This was a private college, and submitting to checks is probably part of the contract for renting a dormitory.

[aikoaiko]

36. Although guns were prohibited in our dorms, we had 132 on our floor.

We counted and the RA Director didn't care one way of the other.

[hack89]

43. I knew you would love random, warrentless police searches. nt