Students say they were threatened with arrest for handing out free copies of the Constitution

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last updated 8 January 2015

Four Southern Oregon University students say their First Amendment rights were threatened as they passed out free copies of the U.S. Constitution last week.

Campus Reform reports that the students, who were also collecting signatures to end the university's restrictive speech policies, "were approached multiple times by school administrators and campus police who all asked the students to move to a different area of campus." University officials also allegedly threatened to call the police and take disciplinary action against the students.

Stephanie Keaveney, one of the students involved in the demonstration, said administrators accused the students of causing "an immediate panic for the safety of students in the face of gun violence, or the promotion of such," because they are affiliated with Students for Concealed Carry, "a student-run, nonpartisan national organization that advocates for the right to carry concealed handguns on college campus."