…let us arm the children.
And I don’t mean slapping a six shooter on a toddler but rather a child in the sense that while they are adults in the eyes of the law they will always be children in the eyes of their parents.
Sending your child off to college is often a very emotional time for parents. I recall my father getting a little misty eyed when he drove me some 500 miles to the University of Pittsburgh and wished me luck. And it is the role of parents to provide for the safety of their children as best they can. To that end, I say we should fully support the goals of Students for Concealed Carry.
Later this fall, in conjunction with SCC I will be traveling to several Universities that have seen crimes committed against a student or students and really delve into what the actual sense of self defense on campus is, and not just what the media tries to prostitute out there in order to appease the gun control zealots.
In the meantime, I would like to highlight some of the successes that the SCC has managed to have in a true organic grassroots movement.
Oregon: Former US Marine and OU student, Jeff Maxwell was arrested for bringing a small derringer onto campus for self protection. All charges were dropped but Mr. Maxwell was suspended for violation of the school’s prohibition against firearms on campus. Mr Maxwell filed suit and after litigation the verdict was returned stating that the Oregon University System overstepped its authority and any ban on campus was a violation of State preemption in regards to firearms.
Mississippi: Beginning this year at the University of Mississippi, students can complete an eight-hour course to have a concealed weapons permit, which allows them to carry a firearm on any campus in the state. People wanting to take the course have to be over the age of 21 and must pass a background check to be able to receive the advanced permit.
Wisconsin: With the passage of SB 93 last year decriminalizing a persons right to self defense via concealed weapon, the list of prohibited places did not include college campuses.
Kentucky: Michael Mitchell, a graduate student pursuing his masters in epidemiology at UK and SCC member was fired from his position as an anesthesia tech when it was discovered he legally had a firearm stored in his car. After taking his case of wrongful termination to the Supreme Court he eventually won
Colorado: In March of this year the SCC won a huge case when the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed a lower-court ruling that a policy on four Colorado state university campuses that banned handguns for everyone but law-enforcement officers was unlawful.
These are big wins with regards to “protecting the children” (that’s what the gun control zealots say they want) and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with the SCC with their mission to make sure that the scope of damage done in places like Virginia Tech are not repeated in the future. I mean, VT has prohibited firearms on campus and did so back in 2007 and we all remember how well that protected everyone. As I wrote in a previous article gun free zones are just invitations for criminals and lunatics to run amok without fear.
I’m all for protecting the children…so let’s give them the tools to protect themselves.
Gun Owners of America 