A Christian school, Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia is considered one of the most gun-friendly universities in the country.
The university is planning on some really big changes in the coming new year.
“Liberty University is currently planning to construct a new state of the art outdoor shooting complex near Camp Hideaway. The project was introduced in a public hearing of Campbell County’s Planning Commission on December 5 in which representatives from Liberty University proposed their plans for the range site.
Schematics for the range include a one, two, and three hundred-yard rifle range. It will also feature several shotgun ranges and stands for such shooting sports as skeet, trap, five stand, and sporting clays. Furthermore, the facility will include a pistol range, an area for three-gun competition, tactical shooting, and a potential police shoot-house.”
According to Brad Butler, it will be the first of its kind in the nation. Butler said, “Around 350 universities in this country participate in some form of shooting competition, and around 30 of those universities own outdoor shooting facilities off campus. However, Liberty will be the first university to have nationally recognized ranges that meet NRA and NCAA guideline standards and be able to host all Olympic shooting sports on its central campus property.”
Founder and president, Jordan Stein, 21, a senior from Asheboro, North Carolina, of Students for Liberty for Gun Rights said the new shooting range will be a welcome addition to campus.
Stein also commented, “Liberty has a strong passion for the Second Amendment and a great respect for firearms. It will continue that tradition and teach how to responsibly use firearms and to responsibly use them for good and the defense of others.”
While Virginia prohibits firearms on school property, Liberty is exempt because it’s a private school.
University president, Jerry Falwell, said the that the concept for the new shooting range came from a high level of student interest in firearms.
Falwell said, “We have a very pro-Second Amendment student body.”
Even parents gave an enthusiastic applause when the idea was proposed.
One of the reasons for the university’s aggressive position on this matter was to ensure that the campus would be prepared for an “active shooter” situation.
Falwell said that making other Virginia universities gun free zones make them venerable.
“It’s where terrorists are most likely to strike. They don’t want to see anything happen here like at Virginia Tech, where nobody was able to fire back,” he said.
The university wants to avoid something of that magnitude should evil lurk its ugly face on them.