Opinion: Open Carry Texas Statement On The Baseless Suspension Of Licensed Gun Owner Brandon Masin At Unt-Dallas Law School.
Temple, TX – -(AmmoLand.com)- Brandon Masin is a 25-year-old student at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. He is the founder of the law school’s chapter of The Federalist Society, the only conservative student organization on campus.
On the evening of November 20th, 2018, while at an outing hosted by one of his professors for the holiday, Brandon received an email from the university stating that due to an alleged and unspecified threat he was immediately suspended and would have to meet with the school’s CARE team. He emailed several times asking procedural questions about the investigation as it was unfolding out of compliance with the university’s own policies and Due Process. He never received a response, only a date and time to meet with the team.
At the meeting the CARE team turned out to be the University’s Counselor and Chief of Police, he was vaguely questioned about the unspecified allegations, and after sticking by his denials, he was then questioned about his mental health. If he had any anger issues if he had a firearm, how many, why he felt the need to own firearms? If he was licensed to carry them, if he carried at the school, whether he felt unsafe at the school and if he ever open carried.
Apparently, the school was singling him out as a conservative, licensed gun owner and not concerned about safety.
After this line of questioning the CARE Team departed and the school’s investigator and an assistant came in. They also vaguely questioned him about the unspecified allegation but were at least more specific by letting him know that the allegation was supposedly an off-campus threat against the university and a professor that had happened “later in the day.”
He denied making the threats and showed messages and GPS data showing he was elsewhere. Additionally, he had several students email the investigator validating not only his whereabouts but his character. When he asked the investigator about all of the procedural problems and the impossibility they presented him of raising a defense against an unspecified and anonymous allegation, the investigator informed him that she would investigate and follow up on everything.
He was the emailed later that day informing him that the CARE team considered him a threat while citing no actual reasons for this finding. The following day she issued her decision finding him responsible, citing no evidence for her decision other than not believing his denial and citing the fact that an anonymous accusation was made. She mentioned absolutely no other sources of information and did not mention the discrepancy in the time frame or the several witness accounts that were sent to her.
He has filed an appeal, however, with finals looming the school can delay hearing the appeal until after finals when he can be safely dismissed with the school having the excuse of Academic reasons because of the zero grades. This is nothing more than a political attack based on political bias. The school had no business trying to dissuade Brandon from his beliefs about being lawfully armed nor about his possession or ownership of legally possessed firearms.
The actions of the University of North Texas at Dallas are blatant violations of Brandon’s rights as both a student and a citizen. Open Carry Texas demands IMMEDIATE restitution of Brandon’s status as a student in good standing and afford him the opportunity to complete this semester absent specific and public allegations against him. The university’s attack on the rights of a law-abiding citizen who believes in self-preservation and the right to self-defense should never be a basis for these kinds of egregious actions. OCT is committed to assisting Brandon with any legal actions necessary to restore his status and reputation and strongly condemn the faculty and administrators that are engaging in this despicable conduct.
TAKE ACTION: Contact the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law and demand the immediate restitution of Brandon’s status as a student in good standing.
About Open Carry Texas: Our purpose is to 1) educate all Texans about their right to carry in a safe manner; 2) to condition Texans to feel safe around law-abiding citizens that choose to carry them; 3) encourage our elected officials to pass constitutional carry legislation for all firearms; and 4) foster a cooperative relationship with local law enforcement in the furtherance of these goals with an eye towards preventing negative encounters.