Michigan: Guns on campus?

[GGReporter]

If it becomes legal to bring a handgun into a college classroom, Holly Self of Monroe could be packing heat in her backpack. The 26 year old said she supports a bill being debated in the state Legislature that would allow college students 21 and older to carry loaded handguns into classrooms.

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[Cyrano]

These quotes from the article say it all:


"Sen. Richardville said students with proper training and permits had the ability to conceal and carry guns into the classroom or dorms for decades until lawmakers took it off the books in 2002. He said he is hoping to have the measure reinstated because students should be able to protect themselves."

"The students agreed, for the most part, that they feel safe on the MCCC campus. And if the law is passed, they don’t believe it’ll become the wild, wild West at MCCC.

At the same time, Ms. Richter said, a maniac intent on killing will do so, despite any law."

The article was reasonably balanced, though they gave somewhat more space to the anti-CCW crowd than the pro-CCW crowd. I noticed that a lot of the anti's were teenagers ineligible to carry concealed who have no experience with the real world, however, so I would not give these infants' opinions much credence.

What astonishes me is that the anti-CCW students haven't learned from the Virginia Tech incident that gun-free zones are all-you-can-kill buffets for the crazies. If the loon knows there is a possibility someone in his kill zone may be carrying concealed and may shoot back, it would act as a deterrent. Even if the nutjob went ahead with his plan, at least the students in the classroom might have a chance, which is more than the poor bastards at Virginia Tech had!

I was not surprised, however, by the vacuous comment of one of the teens on the order of, "Just because you have a CCW doesn't mean you can't go crazy." Studies have proven that as a group, CCW people are far more restrained and rational than run-of-the-mill citizens are. Most issuing authorities run a background check on you - which the applicant usually has to pay for, and it's not cheap. Many places require passing training courses before you can get your permit. In some places, you have to appear before a judge and explain why you want your CCW. It's not like walking into City Hall and buying a dog license - or a marriage license. Of course, college is a place where you don't actually have to know anything about a subject to run your mouth on it. (Obama used to teach at a university, remember?)

I do hope the adults attending college with CCWs get their right to do so in the classroom restored.

[SightNSqueeze]

This was my response left behind in the Monroe News readers' forum.

READER COMMENTS

I am a veteran of the Iraq War and a college student. I am also a former law enforcement officer who kept up with the declining violent crime statistics compiled by the U.S. Justice Department's own Bureau of Justice Statistics which continues to show that where law abiding citizens with minimal training are allowed to carry concealed weapons, there are less gun crimes, and fewer accidents. That has been proven and documented in 45+ states since 1991; again, according to the DOJ/BJS. The bottom line is that if an adult can legally carry concealed elsewhere, then s/he should have that right extended to college campuses, shopping malls, stores, shops, and restaurants and not have to contend with the myriad of checkerboard restrictions out there now. I urge all constitutionally minded Michigan citizens to get active and hammer your state legislators until they do the right thing.

[SightNSqueeze]

It might not hurt to read the article and leave a comment. No registration is required.


Read About It: The Monroe Evening News (Mich.)

[AOM1Carbine]

I go to school in CT and there was a big thing about this last year. There was an empty holster protest and it got some news coverage....As I am not 21 I couldnt really participate and have it mean the same thing but I will as soon as I am 21

It was sanctioned and allowed by the school and the various Gun and Shooting clubs on campus

[SightNSqueeze]

Originally Posted by AOM1Carbine

I go to school in CT and there was a big thing about this last year. There was an empty holster protest and it got some news coverage....As I am not 21 I couldnt really participate and have it mean the same thing but I will as soon as I am 21

It was sanctioned and allowed by the school and the various Gun and Shooting clubs on campus

Definitely stay active in this issue AOM1. A lot of us in and out of law enforcement worked really hard to get some sort of CCW/OCW across the country in the last couple of decades. We went from just a couple of states to almost all of them. Now we need to clean up the checkerboard laws that leave some areas and the people in them vulnerable to violent attack without the ability to defend themselves. That certainly includes college campuses and classrooms.

Keep up the good fight, have your say on online public forums, write your state and national congressional delegations and join the NRA and/or your state GOA.

[AOM1Carbine]

Proudly a member of the NRA...But whats GOA?

[TheLastMountain]

Gun Owners of America