Henry Bowman
Senior Member
Thanks, wheelgunslinger. Still, a careful journalist could anticipate the editor's "pinch" and draft the original to read "while quickly adding that the gun was legally owned [or purchased]."
Former Marine expelled from University of Tampa for gun posession
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Scorpiusdeus
member
The fact remains that it is against the rules, he knew it, he broke it, and now he's gotta suffer the consequences. I give him my respect for having the balls to man up on the issue.
Joe Demko
Member
What does his being a former Marine have to do with anything, for good or ill? Former Marines have exactly the same rights as any other citizen. Neither more nor less.
Justin
Moderator Emeritus
He should have arranged for off-campus housing, gotten a safe deposit box, or kept his mouth shut until he was able to arrange for storage off-campus.
That said, expelling him is a bit harsh. Something like this should result in punishment that gets the point across without destroying his college career.
That said, expelling him is a bit harsh. Something like this should result in punishment that gets the point across without destroying his college career.
Houston Tom
Member
I really feel for the guy but
I attended Camp Tampa (aka Moscow on the Hillbrough) in the early 80's and was on the student Judicial Board and as much as I may or may not liek or agree with soem of the rules in the Students code they are the rules by which all students must abide. The university no longer gets any money from me because of some of the decissions they have made.
I wish him all the luck.
I attended Camp Tampa (aka Moscow on the Hillbrough) in the early 80's and was on the student Judicial Board and as much as I may or may not liek or agree with soem of the rules in the Students code they are the rules by which all students must abide. The university no longer gets any money from me because of some of the decissions they have made.
I wish him all the luck.
Look, he's 29 years old, he fought in Iraq, he's was in the service for seven years, he works with nuclear and biological weapons, he has a problem with college kids making noise, he still cares what his family thinks about his career, he can't follow rules, he can't keep his yap shut and you all got your knickers in a knot because he got caught. Sheesh, maybe, just maybe this fella is better served not living in a dorm room .
iiibdsiil
Member
Let's rephrase that Wheeler...
He's a war veteran that appreciates sleeping at night, was trusted with nuclear and biological weapons, has strong family morals, and was trying to help educate a fellow student on how she can defend herself. He was basically told by the university that he is not qualified to have a weapon in his possession, and also that he basically has no right to true self-defense.
It's all in how you wanna word it...
And let's not leave out the fact that the projects are literally catty corner from the university. I see kids out jogging around the outside perimeter of the campus at 11 o'clock at night and wonder how these yuppies are that stupid. Campus security is a joke.
BUT, on 2nd thought, if this is the Marine that I had an altercation with in the library because we were being too loud working on a group project while he was trying to study... then I can understand why he was expelled, because he had a real big mouth. This kid told us that if we want to be real men to go join the Marines and this that and the other. I didn't take the High Road in my response and being with 4 other people, I was ready to take it outside. He honestly needed a straightening out...
Now I gotta see if I can't find a picture of him.
He's a war veteran that appreciates sleeping at night, was trusted with nuclear and biological weapons, has strong family morals, and was trying to help educate a fellow student on how she can defend herself. He was basically told by the university that he is not qualified to have a weapon in his possession, and also that he basically has no right to true self-defense.
It's all in how you wanna word it...
And let's not leave out the fact that the projects are literally catty corner from the university. I see kids out jogging around the outside perimeter of the campus at 11 o'clock at night and wonder how these yuppies are that stupid. Campus security is a joke.
BUT, on 2nd thought, if this is the Marine that I had an altercation with in the library because we were being too loud working on a group project while he was trying to study... then I can understand why he was expelled, because he had a real big mouth. This kid told us that if we want to be real men to go join the Marines and this that and the other. I didn't take the High Road in my response and being with 4 other people, I was ready to take it outside. He honestly needed a straightening out...
Now I gotta see if I can't find a picture of him.
CoinMan
Member
"What does his being a former Marine have to do with anything, for good or ill? Former Marines have exactly the same rights as any other citizen. Neither more nor less."
It has everything to do with it, because the liberal media and college administrators get a two for one here. They can demonize gun owners and bash the military in one fells swoop.
You see, the article is feel-good piece for leftists who hate their country.
It has everything to do with it, because the liberal media and college administrators get a two for one here. They can demonize gun owners and bash the military in one fells swoop.
You see, the article is feel-good piece for leftists who hate their country.
Houston Tom
Member
And it is a lot nicer now then it used to be. Hyde park had not been taken over by the yuppies yet. My freshamn year a girl got attacked in the parking lot behind the ROTC building, and a couple of guys and I chased the Goblin into those projects I know very well how bad that area can be. I had a gun my freshman year and I had to keep it at the police station. They used to have a police annex in Howell hall (if that is still there). That being said when he entered the university he agreed to obey the rules of the university, like them or not. Not many people like property tax but you have to pay it. IF you do not like the rules then work to change them or move off campus.
No, he didn't break any laws. That's why TPD involvment was so silly. Any charges mentioned in that article? Nope, just expelled, which from a legal perspective is like a store owner asking a rude customer to leave and a police officer escorting them out. No broken laws, just the rule of a private institution.
Had he refused to leave, the charge would be trespassing, not anything to do with his legal firearm. His mistake was showing someone...storing a gun in a dorm room for a week until you can put it off campus is no big deal as long as you recognize and accept the potential consequence (expulsion from school) and keep your yap shut. No legal issue though.
I had a problem with annoying, immature, college brats making noise after quiet hours (on weekdays) when I had to get up for PT in ROTC too (my one year in the dorm). It was post enlistment in the Army, but pre-war. Suggesting this guy has psych issues is just silly and absurd just because he asked some inconsiderate jerks to shut up...whether getting up at 0500 for PT or studying for a test, quiet hour rules in the dorm need to be enforced.
lacoochee
Member
There's the solution, I had my guns with me at USF, I kept them at the Campus Police Station and checked them out when I left campus. I have a friend that went to Univ. of Tampa, they did the same. The guy was stupid in this regard being a vet doesn't automatically make you smart it just makes me give you the benefit of the doubt until otherwise proven different. The Marine part, well I was in the Navy, so...
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
I have to agree with Joe Demko, what does having been a Marine have to do with anything? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Having served in the Marines does not make you more equal than anybody else. You don't get to skirt the laws just because of that service. It sounds like he is playing the veteran card because he can't come up with a better justification for his stupidity in getting caught and so he hopes to use misdirection to gain sympathy.
yesit'sloaded said
Apparently, you are not too familiar with Constitutional law or the fact that your interpretation of the Constitution is not agreed upon in a similar manner by the branch of the government set up by the Constitution to interpret the Constitution and the laws of the land, the Supreme Court.
yesit'sloaded said
Apparently, you are not too familiar with Constitutional law or the fact that your interpretation of the Constitution is not agreed upon in a similar manner by the branch of the government set up by the Constitution to interpret the Constitution and the laws of the land, the Supreme Court.
This story does seem a little odd. A 29 year old with several years of military service should have had enough life experience to know when to keep their mouth shut. Sometimes it's best "to say as little as possible to as few people as possible as seldom as possible". CYA ...
Mr Kablammo
Member
Put 'em in the trunk of the car, park off campus always. Don't break the rules and be careful in the choice of your friends.
Registered to say that a maintenance manager saw a pistol at my University of Texas residence. I got called in to the Assistant Director of Residential Affairs who basically said, "You know guns are against the rules, right?" I said, "Yes sir." He said, "Good. Glad we have an understanding." And sent me on my way.
shooter429
Member
He broke the law but
not all laws are good or just or even make sense. I think that the gun free schools thing is really dumb. In my state, for example, people who have CC permits are to be arrested, and have the permit revoked if they take one on school grounds. But the gang members or others who have never had background checks carry anyway.
So the only people who cannot carry on school grounds are the ones that have clean backgrounds and follow the laws in the first place. That is really dumb. School shootings could be stopped if they let responsible adults in the schools carry. Just like pilots, I think teachers and parents with permits should be allowed-even encouraged to carry. But that would make too darn much sense.
That having been said, showing anybody else in the dorm was begging for trouble.
Nuff said
Shooter429
not all laws are good or just or even make sense. I think that the gun free schools thing is really dumb. In my state, for example, people who have CC permits are to be arrested, and have the permit revoked if they take one on school grounds. But the gang members or others who have never had background checks carry anyway.
So the only people who cannot carry on school grounds are the ones that have clean backgrounds and follow the laws in the first place. That is really dumb. School shootings could be stopped if they let responsible adults in the schools carry. Just like pilots, I think teachers and parents with permits should be allowed-even encouraged to carry. But that would make too darn much sense.
That having been said, showing anybody else in the dorm was begging for trouble.
Nuff said
Shooter429
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
They were believed to be good, or just, or made sense to those who penned them at the time they were penned. However, just because you don't agree with a law isn't justification for breaking it.
When it comes to incidents like this, I have to wonder why this guy isn't responsible enough to keep his mouth shut about breaking the rules and/or laws and if he can't do that, then just how responsible is he overall? I don't know, but he failed the easy part of the responsibility test by making his weapon known to others.
Joe Demko
Member
I agree with there being questions about this fellow's overall judgement. If he had kept mum about the gun, none of this would be happening. When you decide you are going to be a rule breaker, it's not a good sign that you advertise that you are a rule breaker.
I still say his veteran status is not germane to the gun issue. The rule, as written, applies to all students who live in the dormitory. There's no addendum that says "except for former Marines."
When I was an undergraduate, I lived in a dormitory for one semester. Like the guy in the OP, I was older than the other students. I kept contraband of various kinds, including weapons, in my room in defiance of university rules. I never had any problems because the only one who knew about it was me. In graduate school, I carried a gun to class on a regular basis, once again in defiance of university rules. Same story. I kept my yap shut about it and it never became an issue.
If you don't like the rules so much you can't live with them, there are basically two choices:
1. Get the rules changed.
2. Take your chances with breaking the rules.
If you're going to choose 2, you need to be smarter about it than he was and accept your penalty if you get caught.
I still say his veteran status is not germane to the gun issue. The rule, as written, applies to all students who live in the dormitory. There's no addendum that says "except for former Marines."
When I was an undergraduate, I lived in a dormitory for one semester. Like the guy in the OP, I was older than the other students. I kept contraband of various kinds, including weapons, in my room in defiance of university rules. I never had any problems because the only one who knew about it was me. In graduate school, I carried a gun to class on a regular basis, once again in defiance of university rules. Same story. I kept my yap shut about it and it never became an issue.
If you don't like the rules so much you can't live with them, there are basically two choices:
1. Get the rules changed.
2. Take your chances with breaking the rules.
If you're going to choose 2, you need to be smarter about it than he was and accept your penalty if you get caught.
KimKommando
Member
It is against the law to carry a gun on school grounds. Being a Marine doesn't exempt him.
lacoochee
Member
Actually not so much,
Pretty sure you are OK legally as long as you are not in a school building, not sure about dorms. It was certainly ok for me to store my firearms at the USF Police Station located on campus, I could withdraw them at anytime.
Even then if you have a Concealed Weapons License the most you can be charged with would be a second degree misdemeanor.
Pretty sure you are OK legally as long as you are not in a school building, not sure about dorms. It was certainly ok for me to store my firearms at the USF Police Station located on campus, I could withdraw them at anytime.
Even then if you have a Concealed Weapons License the most you can be charged with would be a second degree misdemeanor.
iiibdsiil
Member
And in this case you lose $7,000 FL resident tuition or $10,000+ non-FL resident tuition.
I don't carry at UT for this reason, I'm not worried about a retarded law. I'm still on mommy-welfare, she pays for my school, my off-campus residence, my gas, my insurance, bought my car. I'll take the misdemeanor if they don't expel me.
The state will slap me on the wrist, mom will kill me!Crunker1337
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A fat lot of good we're doing this nation and society by persecuting upstanding individuals (that have done nothing wrong) who have put life and limb on the line for American freedom.
tegemu
Member
I'm really sorry to hear that Florida has instituted gun registration.
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Being in the military does not make you more equal than other people. A benefit of serving in the military, or other branches of the government does not put you above the law. As for not doing anything wrong, he broke school rules and he broke the law. As he probably had firearms with him during his entire stay, he was chronically breaking the rules and chronically breaking the law.
JohnMcD348
Member
Well, like everyone else has said, he made the mistake of trusting someone and trying to help them with a very important decision. That was his mistake and he admits to it, accepts responsibility for it and faces the consequences in stride. While I was in school at the Community college level at Hillsborough Community College, we had a student there who was mentally unstable. They were actually under the care of a mental health professional. They were disruptive to the class, threatening to the staff and they were just smart enough to play the game in a manner that they were not able to be escorted off campus for quite a few months. It got to the point that myself and one other student in the class like me who was a prior service veteran, carried a firearm in our book bag daily. We never allowed the other student to be alone with anyone among our class, including staff members because we genuinely feared for the safety of our classmates. The only people who knew we had these in our possession was us. It was our secret for 4 semesters. The student was finally expelled from school and a restraining order placed on them. Non of the other classmates and staff knew until a year after the classes were over and the topic of the student came up again amongst some of us. They all expressed a great fear of harm coming to them and thought it would not have been a surprise had that person come back into the class caused us harm. It was during that discussion theat a few of the others learned that myself and the fellow classmate had both doors covered with the understanding that f that student came back in that one would cover the other if need be.
But NEVER did either of us make that plan known or the fact that we had firearms on our person while enrolled in the school.
But NEVER did either of us make that plan known or the fact that we had firearms on our person while enrolled in the school.
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