NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 18, 2014
Information Contact: Mitch Coffman (208) 258-2280 ext. 214
Idaho Freedom Foundation disappointed in lack of response from BSU
The Center for Defense of Liberty, a division of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, issued a statement Friday concerning Boise State University’s lack of response to a demand letter concerning a gun rights event held on May 16 on the campus.
The letter was sent June 30 expressing concern over the handling of an event sponsored by the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). YAL brought a speaker, Dick Heller, to the campus to discuss his successful lawsuit challenging a gun registration law in Washington, D.C., and to express his support for Second Amendment gun rights.
The university was given until July 14 to reply. It did not. Geoffrey Talmon, director for the Center for Defense of Liberty, issued the following statement:
“The Center for Defense of Liberty is disappointed that Boise State University still has not issued a formal response to our letter dated June 30, 2014. As a professional courtesy to the University, we allowed a few additional days beyond our stated deadline for such a response to be issued, but we have still received no response to our letter. Considering that three separate public interest organizations have now expressed concerns about Boise State's speech policies, we hope that this delay is not an indication that the University is not taking this issue seriously.”
The Supreme Court of the United States in a 5-4 decision in 2008 in the Heller case held that the Second Amendment applies to federal enclaves and protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
YAL says it was charged an additional $465 for security purposes, information about the event was removed from BSU websites and literature was denied approval.
Talmon told the university in his letter that it had violated the group’s First Amendment rights.
ACLU of Idaho and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education also sent letters to the university expressing similar concerns.
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