gun club constitution

[bteague2]

As some of you know, I've been trying to get a gun club started here at school(UT). Now that all of the paper work is basically done, I figured I'd post it here and see if any of you had some critiques or suggestions as I've heard from other clubs that whether or not the club is accepted is based largely on the constitution it submits. And don't worry about being too harsh, I know I'm no writer any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Constitution of the Volunteer Gun Club

At the University of Tennessee

Article I

Name of the Organization

The name of the organization will be Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee.

Article II

Purpose

The purpose of the Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee is to promote firearms education, responsible ownership, and usage. It will also provide a network for like minded firearms owners and enthusiasts to coordinate events and meetings.

Article III

Membership

Membership to the Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee will be open to all students, and faculty/staff members where appropriate, regardless of race, gender, disability, religion, or national origin.

Article IV

Officers

Officers of the Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee must be full-time students or full-time faculty/staff members in good academic standing at the time of their election and continuing throughout their term of office. Any student who is not in good academic standing, has had three safety violations, or according to the Office of Student Conduct, will be ineligible for office.

The elected officers of the club shall be a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Ordinance Officer. Unelected officers of the club shall be the Range Officers.

Duties of the Officers

President

The President will be in charge of meetings, organizing events, public relations, promoting the club and club events, be in charge of the Range Officers, and any other official duty not assigned to another officer.

Vice President

The Vice President will assist any of the other officers, be in charge of new members, and temporarily step up if the president resigns for any reason until a new election is held.

Treasurer

The Treasurer will be in charge of collecting, maintaining, and uses of all club dues and money. The Treasurer is also in charge of maintaining the official list of members in the Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee.

Ordinance Officer

The Ordinance Officer will be in charge of ammunition or equipment for any club sponsored event.

Range Officers

Any member who has been in the Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee for at least one year, has not had a safety violation, and has received formal firearms training (hunters safety course, handgun carry permit course, military training, etc…) may volunteer to be a Range Officer. Range Officers have no administrative power; they are in charge of maintaining safety during club sponsored events.

Article V

Term of Office

Officers of the Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee are to be elected at the end of the Fall term of each academic year. Elections are to be held by secret ballot and a majority vote of the members is required for election. Officers elected during the fall term will take office on the first day of the Spring term and will serve for one year. In the event an officer wishes to step down, becomes ineligible to be an officer, or at least one-third of the membership requests that an officer resign; a new election will be held within one months time.

Article VI

Frequency of Meetings

Meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month during the Fall and Spring terms.

Article VII

Financial Statement

Membership dues will be $20/year or $12.50/term. In the event of the gun club disbanding at any time any remaining money shall be divided equally and donated to the University’s ROTC programs.

Article VIII

Advisor

The Volunteer Gun Club at the University of Tennessee will have an advisor who will be a full-time faculty or staff member at the University. The advisor will be elected by majority vote and must agree to serve in this capacity. The advisor will have the responsibility to verify through the Office of Student Conduct that the current officers are in good academic standing and are not on disciplinary probation. The advisor may serve in that capacity indefinitely provided no member of the group requests a reelection and at least one-third of the membership is in agreement. No member shall request a reelection of the advisor unless they have already found a replacement advisor and informed the club officers. If the current serving advisor wishes to step down, or one-third of the members request a reelection, a new election will be held within one month. A majority vote and the consent of the full-time faculty/staff member are required for appointment.

Article IX

Other

Safety Violations

If a member of the club is caught acting irresponsibly or unsafe while handling a firearm at a club sponsored event, the club will use the three strike system.

1st Violation – A Range Officer will explain to them what they did wrong and explain

how to avoid the unsafe action again.

2nd Violation – The member in question has a meeting with the Range Officer, Vice

President, and President of the club.

3rd Violation – The member is dismissed from the Volunteer Gun Club at the University

of Tennessee until the last meeting of the semester and forfeits their right to vote

in the next set of elections.

(sorry about the formating it doesn't look like it pasted very well)

[saintsfanbrian]

Looks good to me. Is this the last hurdle? Do you have an Academic sponsor already lined up? Will this allow you to store guns on campus easier?

[molonlabetn]

would it be worthwhile to specify in Article III that the members must be able to legally possess firearms (ie, barring known felons, etc...)? You won't be able to perform background checks... but the membership application should probably require signed affirmation that they are not a criminal or otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms. It might also be worth stating that the organization will not condone discussion or participation in illegal activity, or activities which violate the school's policies.

Looks good to me.

[bteague2]

I had something similar to that in the first draft, but the school wants that exact phrase word for word. I guess I could add it on to the end but who knows. We can always vote the change in at a meeting.

And I guess something about not violating school policies should be in there somewhere. Maybe under "Other" at the end?

[Guest Len]

That sounds like a plant to me. (Include under "Other.")

Also, thanks for this. I am thinking about starting up a club at my school (actually, I'd be faculty sponsor for the club) and this will be a great help!

I had something similar to that in the first draft, but the school wants that exact phrase word for word. I guess I could add it on to the end but who knows. We can always vote the change in at a meeting.

And I guess something about not violating school policies should be in there somewhere. Maybe under "Other" at the end?

[bteague2]

saintsfanbrian: Yes we have an advisor lined up already and no it shouldn't change how guns are stored on campus. The UTPD has a gun locker that it let's students check guns into for people that live on campus, and off campus isn't an issue.

Len: What school are you at? I've exchanged a few emails with other school's clubs if you'd be interested. And if you get your club going, maybe we could get some friendly competitions going.