OREM -- A Utah Valley University student videotaped and posted online a discussion he had with police after they confronted him because he was openly carrying a gun on campus.
Nick Moyes said he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but his actions last week have spurred a debate over whether that means guns on campuses must really be hidden from view.
Utah Valley University says they do, while Moyes argues he was within his right to carry the gun in a holster on his hip in view of others.
State law says a person must have a concealed firearm permit to carry a gun on a school campus. But there are no laws barring a person with a permit from carrying a firearm openly on campus.
Moyes said campus police approached him Friday after someone reported seeing a man with a gun at the school.
"All I was doing was standing on a ladder and adjusting our banner," he said, adding that he wasn't drawing attention to himself or acting in a threatening way.
Moyes filmed part of the interaction and posted two videos on YouTube.com. They show an officer telling Moyes he wasn't allowed to openly possess a gun on campus.
"Carry it concealed, and it's a dead issue," the officer said. "I'm not trying to take away your rights or anything else, but the school has the right to make sure that everybody ... feels safe."
UVU spokesman Chris Taylor said the school believes a person with a concealed weapons permit can bring a gun on campus, but they must conceal it.
"We're just saying to conceal it as the state defines that it ought to be concealed," he said.
Lt. Douglas Anderson of the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification said it's lawful to carry a concealed firearm on campus with a permit, but openly carrying one is a "different animal." It is not expressly allowed or disallowed by state law, he said.
He said proposed legislation would help clarify what it means to display a weapon in a threatening manner.
The Utah attorney general's office said it has not received a complaint and declined to comment.
For decades, the University of Utah in Salt Lake City enforced a ban on guns, but in 2004 the Legislature passed a law clarifying that the school is subject to a state law that allows concealed weapons on state property. The university challenged the law, but the Utah Supreme Court upheld it in 2006.
Colorado State University recently joined most major colleges nationwide by approving a ban on guns on its two campuses.
Moyes said he has had his permit since January 2007 and has been openly carrying a gun on campus since September. This is the first time it's created a problem, he said.
Moyes added he doesn't carry the gun openly to be an activist and said he understands that an openly carried gun could cause alarm, particularly with so many school shootings in the news.
"I can absolutely see that side of the coin," he said.
Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council and a firearms instructor, said he teaches students to be careful about where they choose to openly carry firearms. He said he doesn't openly carry guns in schools or banks.
"Just out of decorum," he said. "But it is certainly legal to do."
Moyes said he concealed his weapon after talking with police and will continue to until the issue is resolved.
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