Letter: Concealed carry wrong approach
Students should tote guns on campus.
Monday, April 28th, 2008
More than one year ago, a crazed student on the campus of Virginia Tech killed 32 innocent Americans.
Fellow students, we have a problem amongst ourselves. Currently, students are not allowed to bring concealed weapons on campus.
I ask you, how am I supposed to defend myself in the wake of a terrorist attack or random act of violence on the campus of KU? Let’s be honest, the only thing able to prevent people from being killed by guns is to allow everyone on campus to carry one. Fight fire with fire I say (that’s proven to work, right?).
I’ve been reading over the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) Web site, and I must say that I’m disappointed. If guns are concealed, won’t people still feel like they’ll be able to attack any given classroom?
It’s completely ridiculous logic. That’s why the group needs to drop the word “concealed” from their name.
If everyone is wielding their favorite glock, shotgun or rifle, then campuses would feel like a much cozier environment. If I see someone holding an M-14, that says, “Hey buddy, don’t fuck with me,” and I wouldn’t.
Now some of you liberals out there may claim, “Oh guns kill people. Let’s all hold hands and hope for peace.” What if a terrorist were attacking your anti-gun bonfire rally on Wescoe? Your guitar is no defense mechanism, and you wouldn’t be able to play “Kumbaya” anymore.
All that aside, according to the SCCC, in the fall of 2006, Utah allowed all public university students to carry concealed handguns and since then, there have been zero gun-related incidents.
Sure, it may be the 35th most populous state, with the entire state’s population totaling around 2.2 million, but zero means zero. Facts don’t lie—this obviously means that all public universities in Utah are invincible to attacks, thanks to campus-friendly gun laws of course.
Tragically, the SCCC has tackled an aspect which could be construed as an anti-gun threat. This would be the statistic claiming that 2 percent of gun-related deaths are accidental.
So, come on fellow students, I vote that we organize an event on Wescoe Beach in support of pro-Constitutionalism called the People Supporting Your Concealed Handguns On School campuses (PSYCHOS). If not, we can always move to Utah.
Nick Pennebaker is an Austin senior in political science.
Discussion
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wow...so, i'm picking up on your sarcasm.
you're not really doing a lot of justice to your cause by being an ignorant smart-ass about this issue. it's clear that you know nothing on the issue, so this letter should have been saved for the free-for-all. or just trashed.
yea, lets mock responsible gun-owners who only want the rights they already have everywhere else in the state to extend onto campus. that's constructive.
About as constructive as fear-mongering so that you can have guns on a college campus.
I think it'd be better if people simply took advantage of the weapons they are allowed to carry on campus instead of worrying too much about not being allowed to carry guns.
Blowguns. Tasers. Truncheons. Cattle prods.
All kinds of things you can use for the sort of situation in which you might be found if someone carries handguns with the aim to use them.
In fact, let's issue one pink taser to each girl on campus, paid for out of fees. That way, birds get protection from rape, and I get protection from nutters with guns. These girls also have accountability, because of the tags released with every taser shot, which would also be tracked by the university. Hell, let's take it out of the athletics department instead of raising fees!
Deal?
empire, other than rhetoric, do you have another constructive idea as to how to protect the entire student body ALL THE TIME? There aren't enough police for that to be feasible. and those scary "no weapons" signs are SURE to ward off anyone with a weapon and devious intentions. there's no place quite like a guaranteed "gun free" campus for a shooter to pick off whomever he or she wishes. as for "fear-mongering," i tend to refer to that as "the truth", but feel free to mis-define all you want. clearly, if we ban guns, there will be no more gun murders! that's proven to work, right? i guess if you want to live in the delusional dream world wherein preventing responsible gun-ownership will keep the campus safe from mass-shooters, who am i to stop you? i myself prefer the real world.
If you'd like to relinquish the right to defend yourself be my guest. But take note that the police will be the first to admit that there's no standard law enforcement procedure to prevent outbreaks of violence such as school shootings. Our only defense sometimes is ourselves.
I think it is clear the author of this article, and anyone against allowing students the right to carry concealed handguns on campus, are really just racist patriarchs. Statistics prove that women and minorities are most susceptible to violence. Women are especially susceptible since they are on average weaker than most men. It is clear these anti-gun rights nuts really hate all women and minorities and can’t stand the idea that if we allow them to carry guns they might be able to fight back against their oppression and control.
Students of Liberty hopes to tackle this issue very soon in our continuing lecture series. I personally think it is a significant discussion to be had and deserves to have more attention.
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