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College Carry

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
So, as I do sometimes, I'm pouring over the laws. I thought I remember the no firearms in school statute saying colleges were included, but it's not in that statute any more...Never mind, it is, see next post

Title 20-A Section 6552:

1. Prohibition. A person may not possess a firearm on public school property or the property of an approved private school or discharge a firearm within 500 feet of public school property or the property of an approved private school.
[ 2009, c. 614, §2 (AMD) .]
2. Exceptions. The provisions under subsection 1 do not apply to the following.
A. The prohibition on the possession and discharge of a firearm does not apply to law enforcement officials. [2009, c. 614, §3 (RPR).]
B. The prohibition on the possession of a firearm does not apply to the following persons, if the possession is authorized by a written policy adopted by the school board:
(1) A person who possesses an unloaded firearm for use in a supervised educational program approved and authorized by the school board and for which the school board has adopted appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety; and
(2) A person who possesses an unloaded firearm that is stored inside a locked vehicle in a closed container, a zipped case or a locked firearms rack while the person is attending a hunter's breakfast or similar event that:
(a) Is held during an open firearm season established under Title 12, Part 13 for any species of wild bird or wild animal;
(b) Takes place outside of regular school hours; and
(c) Is authorized by the school board. [2009, c. 614, §3 (RPR).]
C. The prohibition on possession and discharge of a firearm does not apply to a person possessing a firearm at a school-operated gun range or a person discharging a firearm as part of a school-sanctioned program at a school-operated gun range if the gun range and the program are authorized by a written policy adopted by the school's governing body. [2009, c. 614, §3 (NEW).]
[ 2009, c. 614, §3 (RPR) .]
3. Penalty. A person who violates this section is guilty of a Class E crime.

Title 20-A Section 1 Defines Public and private schools as

22. Private school. "Private school" means an academy, seminary, institute or other private corporation or body formed for educational purposes covering kindergarten through grade 12 or any portion thereof.

24. Public school. "Public school" means a school that is governed by a school board of a school administrative unit and funded primarily with public funds.

Colleges derive their funding primarily from tuition and therefore do not apply to this statute. A private school is still private property and can therefore trespass you for any reason they see fit.

Am I missing something? As I'm currently reading it, college carry is legal under current law. Never mind, I messed up, see the next post, I found the link that connects it.
 
Last edited:

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
Reading more, It was changed in 2009 to remove

For purposes of this subsection, public school property includes property of a community college that adopts a policy imposing such a prohibition.

and to add

or the property of an approved private school.

Also there is another definition for "Approved Private School" under Section 1 of title 20-A

2. Approved private school. "Approved private school" means a private school approved for attendance purposes under chapter 117.

Chapter 117 goes on to say:

A private school may operate as an approved private school for meeting the requirement of compulsory school attendance under section 5001-A if it: [RR 2005, c. 2, §12 (COR).]

1. Hygiene, health, safety. Meets the standards for hygiene, health and safety established by applicable law and rule; and
[ 1985, c. 797, §20 (AMD) .]
2. Is either:
A. Currently accredited by the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; or [1981, c. 693, §§5, 8 (NEW).]
B. Meets applicable requirements of this Title pertaining to private schools and the department's requirements for approval for attendance purposes adopted under section 2902.

So I was wrong. I'm sorry, carry on College campuses is still a no go :(
 

carry for myself

Regular Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
544
Location
Maine
personally i would not carry on a campus just because of campus PD. that one is a handful in itself. technically they are paid by the institution not the state. especially in the case of a university. therefore undoing the title of Police Officer. you cannot be a Public Police officer and have full jurisdiction to arrest and detain as a privately paid guard. in turn making them not cops at all. however im also confused on how state can govern laws on private grounds such as private colleges. however USM is a state facility i believe which would give reason to govern laws on state property, so what im wondering is USM state paid or private and state owned or private by investors?
 

matthewg123

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
22
Location
Portland Maine
USM is a state school, as is UMA, UMF, UMFK, UMPI, and the Community College campuses. Now, they are all linked together to transfer classes and credits throughout their system. Unfortunately, USM's code of conduct states that the possession of a firearm (rifle or pistol) on any University property is grounds for immediate expulsion, suspension, and possibly lawsuits.

I read the laws quite carefully, and I believe I am even breaking the law by CCing on the way to class, locking my piece in the glove box, and leaving my car anywhere besides the side streets (not university property).

Please, correct me if i am wrong or misleading.

-M
 

boyscout399

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
905
Location
Lyman, Maine
USM is a state school, as is UMA, UMF, UMFK, UMPI, and the Community College campuses. Now, they are all linked together to transfer classes and credits throughout their system. Unfortunately, USM's code of conduct states that the possession of a firearm (rifle or pistol) on any University property is grounds for immediate expulsion, suspension, and possibly lawsuits.

I read the laws quite carefully, and I believe I am even breaking the law by CCing on the way to class, locking my piece in the glove box, and leaving my car anywhere besides the side streets (not university property).

Please, correct me if i am wrong or misleading.

-M

You are correct, no firearm may enter the University Property legally.
 

Maine CWP Training

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Messages
463
Location
Harrison
The last inquiry i made in 2010 the security office at usm said the policy was to leave your firearm with security upon entering campuses, they give you a receipt and you may retrieve it when leaving campus.
 

carry for myself

Regular Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
544
Location
Maine
The last inquiry i made in 2010 the security office at usm said the policy was to leave your firearm with security upon entering campuses, they give you a receipt and you may retrieve it when leaving campus.


the guys at the USM campus i would feel comfortable with that.............guys at portland................ehhhh not so much lol
 

ep0k

Regular Member
Joined
May 21, 2010
Messages
273
Location
Wiscasset, Maine, USA
The last inquiry i made in 2010 the security office at usm said the policy was to leave your firearm with security upon entering campuses, they give you a receipt and you may retrieve it when leaving campus.

I have made multiple attempts to get the Portland campus security office to secure my weapon(s) and they have refused on every occasion. I circumvent the issue by parking off-campus. They seem to have no issue putting a disabled veteran in the position of needing to walk an extra half mile to class if it saves them the trouble of having to sign in a handgun.
 

carry for myself

Regular Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
544
Location
Maine
i only know of the guest policy. as i have had officers at the portland campus store my weapon while visiting friends for guest lectures. also i have stored my weapon once at the gorham facility, but wont do again as they "lost" my kimber for almost an hour.

i would contact the USM chief of police directly pertaining to student weapons. however i do not believe students are allowed to keep weapons on campus. so you may have to keep it locked in your vehicle and park off campus.
 
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