12/20/12

St. Lawrence President Joins Initiative Urging Gun Safety Legislation

CANTON - St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox is among the more than 160 presidents of colleges and universities from across the country who have signed an open letter regarding gun safety legislation.

Presidents Lawrence M. Schall of Oglethorpe University and Elizabeth Kiss of Agnes Scott College, both in Atlanta, Georgia, began the effort in the days following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Full text of the letter and a list of the presidents who have signed are online at www.collegepresidentsforgunsafety.org. The site is also available to other presidents who wish to join in the initiative.

In part, the letter states, "We are college and university presidents. We are parents. We are Republicans, Democrats and Independents. We urge both our President and Congress to take action on gun control now. As a group, we do not oppose gun ownership."

Specifically, the presidents ask for action on "rational gun safety measures," including:

- Ensuring the safety of our communities by opposing legislation allowing guns on our campuses and in our classrooms
- Ending the gun show loophole, which allows for the purchase of guns from unlicensed sellers without a criminal background check
- Reinstating the ban on military-style semi-automatic assault weapons along with high-capacity ammunition magazines
- Requiring consumer safety standards for all guns, such as safety locks, access prevention laws, and regulations to identify, prevent and correct manufacturing defects