By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 03:36:18 +0000

Yes, most colleges/universities are gun-free zones. I suspect the reasoning is politically motivated, but that matters not. There are a fair number of individuals and groups that advocate concealed carry on campuses. This needs to be thought thru rather than recite 2A as a reason. Consider that there are a number of students who’s sole purpose in life after class and on weekends is getting drunk on alcohol or drugs. Their other occupation is seeing if they can have sex a couple times a week. This is not the type of individual that would make a good candidate for concealed carry, yet you cannot deny them that right if they are otherwise qualified to purchase a firearm and pass the appropriate background check for concealed carry. Envisioning somebody in a dorm or frat house environment on Friday night or on the weekend carrying a loaded firearms does not inspire confidence. The publicity of an accidental discharge or accidental shooting would be horrendous and very negative regardless of it being a very isolated incident. To the news media, there are no isolated incidents. The effect would very likely be a ban on firearms on campus and a bleed over on areas outside of the actual campus. All that said, there is also the training factor. There are many states that require a minimum of qualification in order to conceal carry. As such, it is entirely likely that students would not spend the time or money to get effective training in the use of firearms for self defense. Shooting a few rounds at the local range is not training for self defense, it’s weapon familiarization. In fact, I would submit that a fair percentage of our citizens now carrying a firearms are really not adequately trained to use a firearm in self defense. I spend 16 weeks in a police academy with hundreds of rounds and many hours of classroom time and practical exercises learning when to and when not to shoot along with mentally war gaming various scenarios to keep myself alive and protect our citizens. This is the kind of training that should be mandatory for concealed carry. In my state of Colorado, you can take a 4 hour class over the internet and get the certificate required for application of a concealed carry permit. You don’t even have to demonstrate any ability to handle a firearm! In assessing where concealed carry should or should not be permitted, requires an thorough and close examination of a host of factors that are often not obviously related.

Comments on: Lessons on Politics and Tactics from the OSU Terrorist Attack

By: Bill