UL walks back gun-free zones, replaces signs to only include facilities
UPDATE, 8/28/2024, 4 p.m.: Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement after the ULL removed the gun-free zone.
Read the full statement below.
It’s important to remember that laws that restrict the right to bear arms implicate both state and federal constitutional rights. I will keep urging anyone who is attempting to expand gun-free school zones to places they never have been before to remember that the law must be narrowly construed to be constitutional.
Attorney General Liz Murrill
ORIGINAL: LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- The University of Louisiana Lafayette has backed away from claiming much of downtown Lafayette as a gun-free school zone, after being threatened by legal action.
The University released a statement Wednesday saying they have taken down signs that declare the area, and others, a "Safe School Zone."
Previously, UL claimed that an area within a 1,000-foot radius of the Lafayette Science Museum, which is owned by the university, fell under laws that protect such areas around schools.
Read the statement in its entirety below.
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.
Eric B. Maron
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.
Senior Communications Representative
Office of Communications and Marketing
University of Louisiana at Lafayette