Should students on campus be allowed to protect themselves from armed criminals?
Online gun dealer visited the Virginia Tech campus to speak to a student group in favor of allowing students to carry concealed weapons.
A spokesman for Virginia Tech said his appearance was insensitive to victims still recovering from the crime.
A reader had this comment:
- It comes down to education. I'm a police offcer and I fully support the right to go armed. Law abiding citizens, properly trained in gun saftey and self defense, pose little threat to the general population. Criminals, armed with a fiream, with bad intentions do. There are few options available to address the immediate threat of an armed thug with bad intentions. An armed, educated citizen is the most viable option to level the playing field. The Virginia Tech incident was a terrible, terrible tragedy. But there is no law or policy that could have stopped this crazed nut. There is law and policy that allowed this madman to carry on his spree, unthreatened by the defenseless students around him.
Another comment:
- First in defense of the gun dealer: He was invited by the students. Who are we to say that it's too soon and insensitive. The students that invited him were the ones sitting in a classroom listening to their classmates getting gunned down, but we know all about their experience don't we? Second: thanks to the wonderful media now any suicidal nut who wants fame has the idea to do the same thing. VA has very liberal gun laws. Most don't realize it but in VA citizens can carry a firearm in a holster as long as its in plain view (w/out a permit). Does everyone do this? No. So why would we think that if we allowed legal adults to carry concealed weapons on college campus that everyone would. I think the ban on guns on colleges should be lifted and in place you make tougher penalties if they are misused on college campus. The current restriction obviously didn't stop Cho from gunning down 32 innocent people.
- You want a legitimate reason to approve concealed carry at VT. Did you see that fat deputy running up to the school after the shooting. Do you really think that the guys from the deputy donut club will be there in time to save you? Protection is only 5.6 minutes and three lifetmes away. Or it could be 3/10 of a second away on your hip. Sounds like a no bainer to me.
- The botton line is if only the BAD GUY is armed with a gun, then his intended victims are out of luck. But if even just a few people - students or teachers or whoever - who are qualified to carry are armed as well, then the murderer's killing spree could very well be cut short - saving innocent lives. That's not rocket science...just plain old COMMON SENSE...No wonder the libs don't get it.
- I find it incomprehensible that anyone, especially college students and those of us with degrees, and even the smallest bit of common sense, could put the smallest of blame on some who DID NOT PULL A TRIGGER! Guns cannot fire themselves. People fire guns and pull triggers.
- If students had concealed weapons on campus, and teachers had concealed guns on campus the carnage at Columbine, and VA Tech would have been avoidable, or at least lessened. I think the kids at Columbine would not have even schemed to kill if they knew they would be met with force.
- EVERY single person in this Country should take a handgun safety class so they know how the weapons work and can disarm them if need be.
- Criminals always have guns and will take your life if they want. I will shoot back.
Story:
Fresh copy to be cached until 7:25:56 AM |
