A final argument against concealed carry on campus is the level of discomfort generated from having a gun around. People go to institutions of higher learning mainly to get an education. Allowing guns in classrooms would prove to be a distraction more than they would be a necessity. Students would lose their concentration during tests and stare aimlessly as the lights reflected off the steel of a .57 magnum.Not that college students don't already stare aimlessly during exams but seeing the lights reflecting off the steel of a .57 magnum must really be something. Imagine a pistol that makes the .500 Smith and Wesson - currently the most powerful production handgun cartridge around - look puny. Wow!
I have a serious suggestion for young Ms. Keenan. The next time she plans to write on guns and gun issues I would suggest that she check out the NSSF's "Writer's Guide to Firearms and Ammunition." It would help her look a little less foolish even if she decides to stick with her backward ideas on campus carry.
They make a .577 T-Rex in a handgun?
ReplyDeleteCount me out.
I suspect it was a typo [.357 magnum] but I'm in favor of taking every opportunity to ridicule the antis. How can you stare at the reflection off a concealed weapon?
ReplyDeleteI suspected a typo as well but it was just too good to pass up! I had the same thoughts about how you would even know what type of weapon someone was carrying if it was properly concealed.
DeleteShe meant ".57 Heinz".
ReplyDeleteOr was that the 57 states?
DeleteEven if she COULD see it. How about learning to focus? After all, you are in college. Perhaps they should ban good looking girls/guys, they tend to distract also.
ReplyDeleteHaving recently been a university student at a university that permits concealed carriage of handguns, I can say two things for certain. One, I never saw a handgun, because they were concealed. Two, I did lose concentration during exams, but it was because my sadistic chemistry professor kept telling us how much time was left in a vexing manner.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the argument of "other people might be uncomfortable" is the same one I hear when religious extremists are arguing that homosexual students should be barred from attending dances with their lovers. My counter-argument is the same: No civil society can guarantee your comfort. Get over it.
What if I argued that a particular racial group should not be allowed near me because I felt uncomfortable? How about homosexuals? Certain religions?
ReplyDeleteWhy is the Right to Arms the only civil right that is permitted to be discriminated against? People of the Gun unite and fight (by passing Civil Rights legislation).
If, with her X-ray vision eyes, she can see the concealed weapon through clothing then I would be the one uncomfortable. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln needs to immediately refund the cost of her books and tuition because she clearly learned very little there.
ReplyDeleteFrom (me) : Steven B
ReplyDeleteHere is the response I left (I guess awaiting moderation?)
And the one I posted after I left a link on my FB page:
###########$$$$$$$$$$$$
Although I believe in 2nd Amendment rights - I never bought my own personal firearms .... UNTIL VA Tech happened.
And let me be clear - I work in a profession where handling firearms is pretty common : I am in the US Army and have deployed twice.
VA Tech : A Gun Free Zone - where a year earlier students had asked the administration to allow students to be able to practice their 2nd Amendment rights and were turned down using the same arguements I saw in this article. The Result: The gunman had many law abiding citizens who, following the law & Univ Rules, were herded and slaughtered.
Columbine: A Gun Free Zone. The maniacs who showed up and shot all those kids did not listen to the magical "Gun Free Zone" fairy dust, and killed people they KNEW. My father later commented how when he was growning up in Texas he would take his shotgun to school, leave it in the truck, and go hunting after school. Weapons stored in high school students vehicles on site, and no mass shootings.
Fort Hood : Gun Free Zone. Yep, you read that right - due to Clinton's signing of an executive order, our (your) Soliders, most of whom were combat hardened vets were unable to defend themselves from a maniac Jihadi. Trained, combat proficient, proven, brave-in-the-face-of-enemy-fire, experienced SHOOTERS could not stop the Fort Hood shooting. And MAJ Hassan knew the policy.
Aurora Colorado Theatre shooting: Gun Free Zone. We all know the story.
Maybe we can stop genocides by posting "Genocide Free Zone" and monitor the area with the U.N. Oh, wait, they've done that. Google it (multiple stories).
Maybe it's the 'crazy American gun culture" to blame? No, apparently not:
http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/do-gun-free-zones-prevent-incidents-like-the-colorado-theater-shooting/
In all these cases the shooter CHOSE a "Gun Free Zone". The shooter did not go to a police station where everyone is armed and trained. The shooter did not go to an area of the general public where some citizens would be armed. No, in every case listed above, and in almost all mass shooting cases, the shooter went to an area where law abiding citizens, having bought the unicorns and rainbow assertions of politicians, statists, feel good liberal theorists, and the ignorant - where those citizens trusted that the "Gun Free Zone" was safe.
No mass shootings at police stations, or at the military checkpoints at the entrance of our bases, or at a firearms instruction course.
Proof, reality, actual cases and lots of dead due to others ignorance - can we finally stop with the "Gun Free Zones"?
############@@@@@@@@@@@
I hope I added to the discussion.
I can be distracted by S&W M57 .41 Magnums.
ReplyDeleteA .57 Magnum and it comes in chrome? I'm gonna be completely distracted until I get me one of those.
ReplyDeleteStill awaiting moderation on my comment, figured I'd post it here.
ReplyDelete!--
I'm aware that this is strictly an opinion column, but by god did you even proof read this? Please, next time you write something, do a little research on the subject. Having your own opinion is great an all, but if you're writing for a news paper, albeit the school news paper at a generic mid-western university, you should still adhere to some degree of accountability.
As with any bad politician, all of your points focus on one extreme end of the spectrum, most of which are erroneous. First off: .57 magnum!? This must be a typo, you meant the .357, right? I refuse to believe you are that irrefutably retarded. Carry and conceal weapons are almost always 9mm, .22, or some other small caliber. More importantly, how can you see the reflection off a weapon that is being concealed? Open carry is a completely different scenario.
Furthermore, the concern of having a firearm in student housing is a COMPLETELY SEPARATE issue. No student should have a weapon in the dorms. There's simply no need for it, and as you stated, comes with a plethora of other issues to consider. Students, teachers and staff, should be able to 'legally' conceal in the union or in lecture halls, which are at a much higher at risk for mass shootings.
You make it clear that even the police can't be trusted with firearms in your Empire State Building example, yet you suggest hiring more campus police as an alternative. Make up your mind. You truly should have done your research before publishing this article. A conceal and carry training course would have done you wonders.
Lastly, to answer your question; If the person sitting next to me accidentally let their firearm drop out of their backpack while fumbling around for a writing utensil... I would ask him or her to safety-check the weapon and put it back in a compartment designated strictly for the weapon. I would then invite him or her after class to come see how I personally secure my own firearm in my backpack when I go to class. You should see my hidden compartment, it's quite clever.
--