Right to Arms Club comes to vote tomorrow

The Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) is scheduled to decide tomorrow night whether to recognize a club that aims to bring debates on the Second Amendment to campus and educate students about firearms.

The organization, known as the Tufts Right to Arms Club (TRA), is backed by sophomore Nicholas Boyd and junior Brandon Balkind, who cited "a lack of debate about this right."

The Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms. To whom this right applies has been extensively debated, with gun-control advocates saying that the wording does not refer to individual rights and opponents saying that it does.

Boyd, a sophomore, said the club's main goal will be firearms education, based on an on-campus survey the group conducted, which he claims "found a correlation between students' education on firearms issues and their stance on gun rights."

"This is not a mini debate society," Boyd said. "We do have a position on gun control and we do think it is harmful to the United States."

Boyd did not foresee any problems with recognition from the TCUJ. "We have the necessary signatures," he said. According to Balkind, organizers have encountered significant support and interest in the club.

If the club is approved, it will be able to apply to the TCU Senate Treasury for funding.

Boyd was elected to the TCUJ in late October, the same body which will vote on the club's recognition. However, he was unclear whether he could vote.

"I don't want to create any more controversy than the club already has," Boyd said. "As far as I know there is nothing mandating [my abstention]."

"If the vote is close, I may change my mind," he added.

But TCUJ President Abigail Moffat said Boyd would not participate in any way as a TCUJ member. Though Boyd will likely pitch the group to the TCUJ, he will "obviously recuse himself from that question and answer session and deliberations," she said.

The club's activities will likely focus more on trips than meetings. "There's only so much to do at meetings, the events will obviously have to be off-campus," Boyd said.

State law prohibits anyone from bringing a firearm onto a college campus or its vicinity without written permission from the institution, and Boyd said that the club will not bring guns to the Tufts campus. "Neither my co-founder nor myself owns guns -- we're not trying to violate any policy."

In addition, to meetings and shooting trips, Boyd said the club also plans on promoting their interpretation of the Second Amendment. "We hope to bring speakers in support of the Second Amendment, to do our best to have the entire campus learn about it," he said.

Boyd is excited to give the opportunity for people to "put their hand on a gun, see what it's like, and learn about it."

Trips to shooting ranges will be sponsored by the Massachusetts organization GOAL, the Gun Owners Action League.

"Target shooting is a very fun and widespread sport outside of the Boston area," Balkind said. "Though much of our school comes from urban areas, there are many students who enjoy hunting and sport shooting. As we educate Tufts students, and give them an opportunity to shoot, we expect many will show interest in forming a shooting team. We may seek advice from MIT, as they already have one."

In response to administrative and student safety concerns, the University's Risk Manager, David Slater, will offer an opinion about the potential risks of such a group. "If the Right to Arms group gains recognition and if part of their goal is to practice shooting in an off-campus facility, Slater will review the arrangements and the safety considerations," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said.

In an article written by Boyd and Balkind in The Primary Source, the two argue that gun laws are ineffective, and compare crime statistics from the United States and Sweden. "[In] Sweden, for example, where there are far fewer guns and much stricter gun laws, the violent crime rate is twice that of the US," they wrote. The article did not include statistics about specifically gun-related deaths in that country.