If you were involved in a desperately violent situation would you want to be armed and protected or left empty handed?
If it were me--a responsible 22 year old woman--I sure wouldn't want to be found in harms way without a way to defend myself, no matter what the location.
Two people--a faculty member and an additional victim (likely a student)--were violently murdered at Casper College in Wyoming this morning. The college spokesman, Rich Fujita, told reporters that a crossbow and another similar weapon were used in the attacks.
Wyoming state gun laws leave it to the discretion of college administrators to determine whether or not college students are permitted to conceal carry on campus. The law reads:
"Wyoming Statute 6-8-104 (t) “No permit issued pursuant to this section or any permit issued from any other state shall authorize any person to carry a concealed firearm into- Any college or university facility without the written consent of the security service of the college or university”
Also prohibited 6-8-104(vi) Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms."
Below is a response to a students request (name withheld) to carry a firearm on campus from the Director of Campus Safety at Casper College:
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Casper College
http://www.caspercollege.edu/I regret to inform you that this request is denied. Casper College does not permit the carrying of weapons on the campus regardless of whether a person possesses a concealed firearm permit.
Respectively yours,
Lance D. Jones
Director of Campus Security and Judicial Affairs Officer
Casper College
ljones@caspercollege.edu
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Three innocent people were killed at Casper College this morning, and I can't help to think that if someone were armed, innocent lives could have been saved.
This is exactly what groups like Students For Concealed Carry On Campus (SCCC) advocate for and acknowledge: it's not guns or weapons that kill people, people that have the intent to kill are who kill people.
No matter what, people who have the intent to harm or to kill will find ways to do so. Is it fair to lawfully prohibit innocent and responsible people from arming themselves?
It isn't just about concealed carry. Students shouldn't be regulated or prohibited from carrying defense tools such as mace or taser guns, and at many colleges they are. If students were allowed to defend themselves, I guarantee crime--rapes, molestation, and murders, etc.-- would decrease.
A new analysis by at Virginia Commonwealth University showed that gun sales have increased 73 percent over the last five years while gun crime in Virginia has decreased by more than 27 percent. The opposite is true for cities and states with strict gun laws. Chicago has one of the highest crime rates in the nation with the nation's strictest gun laws.
The facts hold straight with the second amendment. While politicians and security officials are actively advocating against the second amendment, many people across the nation are using it to save their lives. Shouldn't everyone--including students--be able to express their right to defend themselves?