Let's just give everyone a gun

Posted by PSUprincess 04/22/2008 12:06 PM

"Signs can't stop violence... armed students can." This is a sign I was staring at during my public speaking class today, an ad for concealedcampus.com, website for the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.

The group's objectives are to educate the public about carrying concealed weapons and to eventually get legislative approval for licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus. Why? To avoid campus shootings much like those at Virginia Tech.

If I had a say in the matter, I'd say this was a stupid idea. Campuses like Penn State and Virginia Tech are so big that there would never a "concealed carrier" somewhere at all times. And also, it will only take one incident of a carrier accidentally shooting at someone who is really just goofing off for the entire program to be abolished.

If intimidation is the goal, then potential violent students will find a way around it. They're usually pretty smart, manipulative people who could figure out how to avoid these "concealed carriers." Or what happens when a concealed carrier turns out to actually be a violent student? It could happen.

I'm not saying it's a totally bad idea, but just think about all the loopholes. More info on this group at www.concealedcampus.com

Comments

Anonymous says,

Lets say a student starts threatening another with a gun, then a few concealed carriers pull their guns out. Who are the police going to shoot?

It gets tricky. Posted 04/22/2008 12:58 PMReply

Anonymous says,

"I'd say this was a stupid idea...I'm not saying it's a totally bad idea". Which is it? Get educated, nobody thinks concealed carry is supposed to act as some sort of pseudo-police force patrolling the campus. It's an individual thing - if your life is in immediate danger, you can defend yourself. That's all. Also in decades of legal concealed carry, not a single license-holder has ever shot a bystander or been shot at by police. As far as a permit holder being a violent student, if he's already got a gun and a violent streak, what does the license matter to him? Seems like an irrelevant detail. Posted 04/23/2008 09:46 AMReply

Anonymous says,

It's about personal protection, not about protecting the student population as a whole. That is a side benefit to society, but not the primary reason that a person with a PA LTCF carries a handgun (they are for personal protection).

The fact is that a police force (no matter how good they are) can't be everywhere at once. You don't see posted guards with AR-15s at the door to every building on campus. You barely ever see a police officer on campus (you don't even see the student division that does ticketing and patrol all that much). With 40,000+ students and dozens of buildings, it's impossible to be everywhere at once. Furthermore, the campus is huge, even if they get a call as soon as something like the VT tragedy begins, there will still be a lag in the response.

As a owner of several firearms, and a LCTF owner, I would personally like to be able to carry my firearm on campus. Lets get one thing straight, just because people carry firearms for protection, doesn't mean that they pull them out to settle arguments. I've been in PLENTY of arguments (though no violent conflicts) and no one even knew that I was carrying a handgun (which is the way I like it).

Unlike many die hard 2A supporters, I'm more liberal. I DO want to see better methods of keeping firearms out of the hands of the wrong people. However, it seems that too many politicians think that all out bans are the best way to do this (ironically criminals that shoot up schools don't seem to care that they can't bring firearms onto campus as they are shooting students). Make background checks more accurate... make owners take a mandatory safety and handling class... etc...

I think a mandatory training class would be a good way to ensure the safety of anyone who wanted to carry a firearm using their LCTF on campus. It would be a good compromise and would promote safety. I personally think this is a good method for the state as well. You have to take a hunter's safety course to hunt in PA. You have to take a test and do a certain amount of driving with a permit for 6 months before you get your drivers license. It seems logical that some instruction would be helpful for new users. As a side note: just because training isn't required by the state right now doesn't mean that many people with LCTFs have plenty of training. I shoot my handgun (and my rifles) far more often than my father (who is, and has been a police officer in PA for almost 3 decades). Carrying is a responsibility just as much as it is a right. It's not something to be taken lightly. Posted 05/03/2008 4:36 PMReply