Having a concealed weapon in a vehicle on campus is legal

Editor,

I am writing this in response to Larry Tarvin's confusion on whether a weapon can be in a vehicle at school, and I want to assure you that the dean of students is correct that a person can have a loaded, concealed weapon in his or her vehicle on campus.

This is because in New Mexico, a car is considered an extension of your dwelling and is private property. As such, anything you can legally have in your home, you can legally have in your vehicle, even if it is parked on city or state property. There are some exceptions, however. The Air Force base and public schools are different as they are either federal property or, in the case of schools, federally funded. But if you remove the weapon from your vehicle - even just to move it from the front seat to the trunk - you would be in violation of the law and committing a fourth-degree felony.

I know this because I have a concealed-carry license and this was explained to us during the training course. Like it or not, property laws are why people can have a weapon in their car on state or city property. In fact, you do not even need a license (concealed-carry or otherwise) to have a loaded weapon concealed in your vehicle just as you don't need a license to have it concealed in your house.

James Taylor

UNM student