NMSU-A halts gun shows at Tays Center

Duane Barbati | Alamogordo Daily News

New Mexico State University-Alamogordo Interim President Dr. Ken Van Winkle has ended the practice of allowing the Alamogordo Evening Lions Club and Western Frontier Gun Shows to rent the Tays Center. Van Winkle officially made the announcement Wednesday.

Van Winkle is disallowing any organization to rent the Tays Center or any facility on NMSU-A's campus for the purpose of selling guns at a gun show or the NRA banquet if the NRA has a gun raffle with the firearms present at the banquet.

The Alamogordo Evening Lions Club and Western Frontier Gun Shows have been hosting their funraiser gun shows at the Tays Center since 2011.

Van Winkle said he believes it's a state law that there's a no carry policy for all campuses statewide, and NMSU supports the state law.

"I've decided that it just doesn't make sense to sell guns on our campus," he said. "By the way it's not anti-gun. I had a little twinge when the mass shootings happened in Oregon and got another twinge when it happened in Paris. With some legal support from Las Cruces, which is our main campus and my gut feeling. It's just not an appropriate place to have these gun sales. I am going to call it off for now. I think it's just the best thing to do for our campus."

Van Winkle has been at the helm as interim president of NMSU-A since June 1.

He said he is not a gun owner but he has friends and acquaintances who do own guns.

"This is a change," Van Winkle said. "Because of what's been happening in the world and we really are a no carry campus. This are being looked at much more closely. This is a good example. Everything's being magnified because of the San Bernardino shootings. All of the tragedies we've had on our campuses, it just doesn't make sense to me that a public institution would host a gun show. It's not about us not supporting those who would like to own guns. I am not comfortable in the Tays Center being a place where we take a stand."

Western Frontier Gun Shows organizer Eli Calles and Alamogordo Evening Lions Club member George Elizondo said they were disappointed in Van Winkle's decission to stop the gun shows that benefit the Lions Club.

The two organizations have hosted 21 guns shows that benefit the local Lions Club since 2011. They've rented the NMSU-A Tays for about $500 a day.

The last show Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 drew over a thousand people.

"The state police did come in to make sure things were being done right," Calles said.

Elizondo said when they met with Van Winkle part of the discussion was the concern of the welfare of the students.

"When there's a no carry campus," he said. "We know who our enemies are. The gun free zone is where these killers want to go because they can do the most damage. To me that's the tragedy. The idea that our policy is we're not going to have any guns ever, instead of wait a minute lets arm up or maybe we should change our policy and encourage the gun shows, encourage our students to prepare to defend themselves. Take the training, take the classes and learn to defend themselves. It's our Constitutional protection."

Elizondo said we were aware of the no gun policy on campus.

"It was with the understanding that the Tays Center was an event center that they carved an exemption based on the use of an event center and not as a college campus slash educational environment," he said. "My understanding there was no violation of the policy."

Under the New Mexico state statue, each campus' administration or president can make an exception under the statue and allow gun shows if it's a university approved program.

NRA Coordinator and Dave's Gun Shop owner Dave Baranowski said if the gun shows are a university approved program then they're allowed to have it.

"It says you can't have guns on university premises," Baranowski said. "They have to post sign conspicuously say that. They would have to have signs saying that by law. The last time I went up there looking, I didn't see any signs like in their parking area and that but they don't so their violating the law but if it's a university approved program, you can have guns there. That's how they were able to have the gun shows, it's a university approved program, not a problem."

He said the NRA hosted their banquet every year at the Tays Center with gun raffles to raise money for the 4-H Club, ROTC and the Boys Scouts.

"We raised about $16,000 for the local 4-H Club," Baranowski said. "We would raise the money with a live auction and silent auction, and raffles for a firearms. If we can't raffle off firearms then there won't be a banquet then. It's the whole point of having the banquet there. If they can't win guns, they won't show up. It sounds like it's one person raising a fuss about nothing. There's been no incidents at the gun shows here. No incidents at the NRA banquets here to cause a problem."

He said Van Winkle should be concerned for the student's safety.

"There creating a gun free zone," Baranowski said. "That means every other shooting that's taken place in this country has been in a gun free zone. You don't see people coming in and attacking gun shows. You don't see people coming into gun stores where people are armed. They go where the people are going to be unarmed. Their easy pickens."