Liberty University Opens Campus Shooting Range

Fox News has the report here:

The lower part of the 600-acre, state-of-the-art gun range has rifle, pistol, and three-gun ranges in a valley located on the other side of Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, a year-round ski and snowboard slope, and at the top has shotgun venues, which include skeet, trap and sporting clay facilities.

Liberty is now the only campus with a venue fit for all Olympic shooting sports and it hopes to be one of the most luxurious facilities in the world once the project is fully completed.

One student, Landon Dalton, a sophomore, told Fox News that he was introduced to a whole new world through the university's competitive shooting program.

The range will open to the public and to law enforcement following commencement.  Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr., was on NRATV's Cam and Company Wednesday to talk more about the new facility and said there's still some final work to do, but it's already seeing a great deal of use. During the interview Falwell also discussed school safety.  He said Liberty University has set a standard for the country to provide a safe educational environment for our children. The K-12 school that shares the property where Liberty U. is located, Liberty Christian Academy, has one door in and out. Armed security officers are supplemented by faculty members that carry concealed. The campus has installed magnetometers and brought in bomb-sniffing dogs to increase security. President Falwell notes that licensed concealed carry permit holders are allowed through security onto what, in his opinion is the safest campus in the country.

Gospel and Guns Intersect at Liberty University

It hasn't been a popular decision among the mainstream educational community but among Liberty students, it seems to fit right in with the values of the students enrolled at the nation's largest Christian university.  CBC News reports that Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s comments urging his students to carry concealed is popular among the student body:

Around campus, with its pastoral lawns and Christmas carols piped out from loudspeakers along University Boulevard, talk of guns in dorms was met with wide support. About 200 people reportedly attended Liberty's largest-ever gun safety class last week, following Falwell's call for more people to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Gioanni Galan, a 19-year-old nursing student, is considering signing up for free firearms training through the Liberty University Police Department. But her roommate disagrees with the dorm proposal, worrying that tempers could flare in some suites and end in gunfire.

It should be noted that only students age 21 and older can qualify for a concealed carry permit in Virginia, but it is a positive sign that students of all ages are interested in signing up for free firearms training.

McAuliffe Reacts Negatively to Liberty University President's Comments on Campus Carry

Jerry Falwell Jr., the President of Liberty University, made comments Friday that included advising Liberty students to arm themselves.  The comments brought a strong rebuke from Governor Terry McAuliffe. Focusing on Falwell's comments about "lets teach them a lesson if they show up here" which McAuliffe took as targeting Muslims, he responded:

"My administration is committed to making Virginia an open and welcoming Commonwealth, while also ensuring the safety of all of our citizens," McAuliffe said in a statement issued late Saturday. "Mr. Falwell's rash and repugnant comments detract from both of those crucial goals."

Falwell is focused on the safety of his students, to the point that he has arranged for free concealed handgun permit courses for students:

"I just want to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit. We offer a free course and lets teach them a lesson if they ever show up here," said Falwell.

Additionally, WDBJ 7 reported that Since Falwell's comments, a range in Lynchburg has seen a 20 percent increase in sign-ups for concealed-carry permit classes.