obtaining permission to carry on campus

1TallTXn · #1

I stated in another thread that I work on a small private university and would like to obtain permission to carry on campus.

Per that I'm working on an email to send to the president as a feeler to see what he thinks about this.

Here's what I've got so far:

With the recent events at Virginia Tech, I have been involved in quite a few discussions regarding how this could have been prevented.

Per these discussions, I found that while firearms are not allowed in the buildings of a school campus, Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders can carry on campus, including the buildings, IF they have written permission.

My question is this; what would you think of the idea of allowing CHL holders to carry on our campus?

I'd be happy to provide any information that I have and would research anything if you'd like.

So I've got a few questions

One: what salutation should I use to begin this?
Two: what do you think?
Three: should I include more info on what is required of a person to obtain a CHL? or should I just leave it simple and provide more info as requested?

Comments, suggestions, corrections are all welcome.

seamusTX · #2

You might want to write a letter rather than an e-mail. It's too easy for the recipient to ignore e-mail. Many highly-placed people don't even see their own e-mail until a secretary has read it.

In the case of a letter, the salutation would be Dear President ___:

I would at least include something like this:

The requirements to obtain a CHL are strict. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the law and proficiency with a firearm after passing a course taught by a state-licensed instructor. Licenses are not issued to people who have a criminal record, have been treated for mental illness, alcoholism, or drug addiction, or have had a restraining order against them. These standards are similar to those required of law-enforcement personnel.

In the 11 years that CHLs have been available, more than a quarter-million Texans have exercised this right. Analysis of arrest records by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows that CHL holders are far more law-abiding than the general population.

The reason I'm suggesting this is that most people have no idea what the requirements are, or have heard false information like CHL holders committing thousands of crimes.

You can get more information here.

Good on you for trying. I'll bet they use the "insurance gambit" or "lawyer gambit," saying that the insurance company or lawyers won't let them do it. My high school and college were fond of those any time a student had an original idea.

- Jim

1TallTXn · #3

seamusTX wrote:You might want to write a letter rather than an e-mail. It's too easy for the recipient to ignore e-mail. Many highly-placed people don't even see their own e-mail until a secretary has read it.

In the case of a letter, the salutation would be Dear President ___:

I would at least include something like this:
The requirements to obtain a CHL are strict. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the law and proficiency with a firearm after passing a course taught by a state-licensed instructor. Licenses are not issued to people who have a criminal record, have been treated for mental illness, alcoholism, or drug addiction, or have had a restraining order against them. These standards are similar to those required of law-enforcement personnel.

In the 11 years that CHLs have been available, more than a quarter-million Texans have exercised this right. Analysis of arrest records by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows that CHL holders are far more law-abiding than the general population.
The reason I'm suggesting this is that most people have no idea what the requirements are, or have heard false information like CHL holders committing thousands of crimes.

You can get more information here.

Good on you for trying. I'll bet they use the "insurance gambit" or "lawyer gambit," saying that the insurance company or lawyers won't let them do it. My high school and college were fond of those any time a student had an original idea.

- Jim

Thanks for the tips/suggestions!

I'll get something stuck together and see what comes of it

#4

As an attorney, I spend far more hours in negotiations than in court. (Court is a lot more fun!!) Rarely does a demand or offer letter do anything more than set the stage for the real work; i.e. face-to-face discussions.

If you feel secure enough that your request won't put your job at risk, I think you should consider having a meeting with him. That way you can tell him of all the requirements for getting a CHL and you can have a discussion about the issue. This will allow you to address his concerns that may not otherwise be disclosed in a response to your email/letter.

One thing you need to consider is that the President may agree with your logic, but he will be thinking about how his actions will be viewed by a Board of Regents, school owner(s), students and their parents, as well as the media and general public. So convincing him is only part of the plan. You must also be ready to show him how his actions can be viewed positively by others. Focusing on increased safety for students is one way, perhaps the only way, this can be done and it wonâ€™t be easy.

Chas.

1TallTXn · #5

Ok, here's the latest edition (still not turned it in)
SeamusTX, I stuck your suggestion in the middle

Dear President ______,

With the recent events at Virginia Tech, I have been involved in quite a few discussions regarding how this could have been prevented.

Per these discussions, I found that while firearms are not allowed in the buildings of a school campus, Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders can carry on campus, including the buildings, if they have written permission.

The requirements to obtain a CHL are strict. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the law and proficiency with a firearm after passing a course taught by a state-licensed instructor. Licenses are not issued to people who have a criminal record, have been treated for mental illness, alcoholism, or drug addiction, or have had a restraining order against them. These standards are similar to those required of law-enforcement personnel.

In the 11 years that CHLs have been available, more than a quarter-million Texans have exercised this right. Analysis of arrest records by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows that CHL holders are far more law-abiding than the general population.

My question is this; what would you think of the idea of allowing CHL holders to carry on our campus?

I'd be happy to provide as much information as youâ€™d like and would be happy to sit down and discuss this.

Thank you for your time and service to this university.

GreenGuy · #6

1TallTXn wrote:Ok, here's the latest edition (still not turned it in)
SeamusTX, I stuck your suggestion in the middle

Dear President ______,

With the recent events at Virginia Tech, I have been involved in quite a few discussions regarding how this could have been prevented.

Per these discussions, I found that while firearms are not allowed in the buildings of a school campus, Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders can carry on campus, including the buildings, if they have written permission.

The requirements to obtain a CHL are strict. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the law and proficiency with a firearm after passing a course taught by a state-licensed instructor. Licenses are not issued to people who have a criminal record, have been treated for mental illness, alcoholism, or drug addiction, or have had a restraining order against them. These standards are similar to those required of law-enforcement personnel.

In the 11 years that CHLs have been available, more than a quarter-million Texans have exercised this right. Analysis of arrest records by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows that CHL holders are far more law-abiding than the general population.

My question is this; what would you think of the idea of allowing CHL holders to carry on our campus?

I'd be happy to provide as much information as youâ€™d like and would be happy to sit down and discuss this.

Thank you for your time and service to this university.

Me personally, I don't like the first sentence. "how this could have been prevented" I don't think it could have been PREVENTED, so it tends to let me not read the rest of it.

I'd rephrase that sentence, and keep the rest. It looks pretty good. Be sure to follow up a week or so after you send it, to request a face to face meeiting like you mentioned.

Piney · #7

Greetings--

IMO, arranging a face to face meeting with him would offer the opportunity for a dialog, rather than just a brief written overview. Should you be able to arrange such, be prepared with relavant information. This could include a sheet with applicable State laws listed for his review later. I would also have some statistics regarding the number of CHL holders in Texas and the number of "incidents" caused by these from the DPS website.

Should you perfer to persue the letter method, perhaps ending it with a statement that requests some specific action on his part. For example, a sentence similar to " I look forward to the opportunity to disucss this important issue furthur in your office" or "I look forward to your reply....."

1TallTXn · #8

Ok, couple grammatical corrections and some changes that y'all suggested.

any better?

Dear President ______,

Iâ€™ve recently been involved in quite a few discussions about the recent events at Virginia Tech. Per these discussions, I found that while firearms are not allowed in the buildings of a school campus, Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders could carry on campus, including the buildings, if they have written permission.

The requirements to obtain a CHL are strict. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the law and proficiency with a firearm after passing a course taught by a state-licensed instructor. Licenses are not issued to people who have a criminal record, have been treated for mental illness, alcoholism, or drug addiction, or have had a restraining order against them. These standards are similar to those required of law-enforcement personnel.

In the 11 years that CHLs have been available, more than a quarter-million Texans have exercised this right. Analysis of arrest records by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows that CHL holders are far more law-abiding than the general population.

My question is this; what would you think of allowing CHL holders to carry on our campus?

I look forward to hearing from you and further discussion of this important issue.

Thank you for your time and service to this university.

seamusTX · #9

Looks good.

The semicolon in the fourth paragraph should be a colon, but that's a minor nitpick. (I just can't help it.)

- Jim

1TallTXn · #10

seamusTX wrote:Looks good.

The semicolon in the fourth paragraph should be a colon, but that's a minor nitpick. (I just can't help it.)

- Jim

You are correct. My english skills are lacking. I'm quite fluent in Texan though!

seamusTX · #11

1TallTXn wrote:I'm quite fluent in Texan though!

Texans don' need no stinkin' semicolons.

I used to work for a guy who absolutely forbade semicolons (I was writing advertising copy). After I got over my initial shock, I realized he was right. You can always arrange your sentences to that you don't need them.

- Jim

pbandjelly · #12

don't use "Recently" and "Recent" in the same sentence.
"Presently I have been involved in discussion about recent events"

just one suggestion.

1TallTXn · #13

pbandjelly wrote:don't use "Recently" and "Recent" in the same sentence.
"Presently I have been involved in discussion about recent events"

just one suggestion.

Good one. Now you see why I didn't major in english

kw5kw · #14

1TallTXn wrote:
Dear President ______,

Iâ€™ve recently been involved in quite a few discussions about the recent events at Virginia Tech. Per these discussions, I found that while firearms are not allowed in the buildings of a school campus, Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders may carry on campus, including the buildings, if they have written permission.

The requirements to obtain a CHL are strict. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the law and proficiency with a firearm after passing a course taught by a state-licensed instructor. Licenses are not issued to people who have a criminal record, have been treated for mental illness, alcoholism, or drug addiction, or have had a restraining order against them. These standards are similar to those required of law-enforcement personnel.

In the 11 years that CHLs have been available, more than a quarter-million Texans have exercised this right. Analysis of arrest records by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows that CHL holders are far more law-abiding than the general population.

My question is this; what would you think of allowing CHL holders to carry on our campus?

I look forward to hearing from you and further discussion of this important issue.

Thank you for your time and service to this university.

my suggestion is recorded in bold blue above.
Russ

Will · #15

1TallTXn wrote:
pbandjelly wrote:don't use "Recently" and "Recent" in the same sentence.
"Presently I have been involved in discussion about recent events"

just one suggestion.
Good one. Now you see why I didn't major in english

"Presently(Present tense) I have been(Past tense) involved in discussion about recent events"

I would just go with:

"I have been involved in quite a few discussions about the recent events at Virginia Tech."