Posted: 2/25/2008 3:35:13 PM EDT
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I am writing an article in support of conceal carry on university campuses. My article is the second part of a pro-ccw/anti-ccw pair of articles they are publishing. They published the anti-ccw article today(monday) and my pro-ccw will be published next monday. I already have a rough draft almost done and I will post it up here for comments sometime tonight. In the meantime, here is the ANTI-CCW article that was written. My article will answer his arguements but will also be a general pro-ccw piece. Let me know if you have any helpful suggestions or data that I can use. I already am using the data found here in my article but any other sources of information would be helpful. ***here is the article I am writing against/responding to. Sorry for the formatting**** School guns won't help Staff Writer Over the last decade or so, with each new school shooting (and how regrettable it is to write that phrase), we’ve heard a new onslaught of arguments from all sides of the political spectrum. The pro-gun side frequently favors either equipping school authorities with guns, or relaxing conceal-carry laws, permitting students the chance for “self-defense.” Call me a leftist wimp, but I’m a little nervous of knowing other kids in class might be packing heat. The idea also leads to odd conflicts in terms of classroom authority: mightn’t professor/student confrontations over grades or cheating be that much more charged in the knowledge that a gun might be around? On the other hand, anyone who really wants a gun can probably get one. This is where the logic of fervent gun control falls somewhat amiss. Even granting the easy availability of guns to anyone who wants them, though, it seems reasonable to question what a young man might want with the four guns he bought online in preparation for the shooting at Northern Illinois University (NIU). It may be unreasonable and impossible to ban guns entirely, but it also seems weirdly irresponsible to permit citizens to stockpile personal arsenals at a moment’s notice. So in an environment where civil libertarians speak righteous apercus about the Second Amendment and the freedoms we’re guaranteed, and where those very freedoms permit shootings like this to continue, what to do? None of the solutions that commentators have suggested really get to the heart of the problem — and really, it’s been this way since Columbine and before. It’s not exclusively a matter of conditioning by media violence and exposure (which arguably do have their place in the onslaught of school shootings): it’s a matter of mental illness, which isn’t always foreseeable or actionable in any meaningful way. And there’s a monumental callousness to saying that these things just happen. But is there any measure that might be permissible both to advocates of freedom and to citizens who don’t want to live in fear? The most immediate, intuitive solution is simply to train students via drills and contingency plans. Yet, frighteningly, even expert foresight fell flat during the NIU shooting. And the damage done by a generation of school shootings continues. The most extreme, utopian solution— that we ban guns entirely — is absurd, bringing thoughts of horses and barn doors. Our culture has advanced, or regressed, to a point of such saturation by guns that such an action would be purposeless. Events like school shootings are like any form of terrorism: horrors visited on the unsuspecting. They never cleave to a pattern, except that of the unforeseeable. In the face of such grim possibilities, the best we can do is continue with vigilance and compassion. There may not be pervasive patterns of behavior, but wherever we glimpse a security gap, or the opportunity to redeem another from dangerous pain and isolation, we ought to seize on it. |
Format changed for reading ability. Back in a minute.
Helpful sites: Gun Owner Fact Sheet from GOA Here's my try - feel free to  Best tactic - use their own words against them.
ETA - you can mention that the courts have found that the state (usually DBA the PD, SD, or Child Protective services) bears no responsibility to protect the citizen as an individual - even when the threat is known in advance. I find it doubtful that a state school or large university would be held to a different standard - even though they prohibit one's right to self defense upon entering their property. |
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Here is a very rough draft. I am going to add a few things to it, including an introduciton sentence or two. Remember, I had to dumb this down to reach the majority of the school population. I'm not trying to make this a killer rebuttal or to bury them with all the facts on our side, I'm trying to make general conceptual points to plant the seed and try to convince the sheeple. This is 508 words and the editor said I have to keep this around 500-600 at the most. I can't really add much more stuff but if you have a sentence or two that would fit or any ideas, let me know. Remember, I know this hasn't been proofread but it will. Enjoy: Many of the concerns with allowing concealed carry on university campuses are misguided or based on feelings rather than facts. To start off, in order to get a concealed carry permit in Oklahoma(and in most other states), the applicant must be over the age of 21, have a record without any felonies, violent crimes or mental instability, and must complete an extensive training course. In other words, the only people eligible would be upperclassmen, graduate students, professors and staff. The required training course covers not only the legal aspects of the conceal carry laws, but also requires the applicants to shoot at a target to show accuracy. Concealed license holders also cannot carry a firearm when they are drinking or are even at a place such as a bar. This should address any concerns about drinking mixing with guns. Concealed carry has been allowed at all Utah public college campuses for the last year and a half and has been allowed at Colorado State University for several years. There has yet to be a single problem related to conceal carry at any of these universities. People may think that gun violence would occur if conceal carry were allowed on campus but the real world examples of conceal carry have shown this to be untrue. Unfortunately, there are not many things universities or police can do to prevent a person, who is bent on causing carnage, from bringing weapons onto campus and using them against people. Drills, contingency plans, campus alert systems and improved police response times only help prevent a classroom shooting from becoming a campus wide rampage. During recent and tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University, police were on scene 2 minutes after the shooting started and the administration sent out email and text alerts within 15 minutes. However, even with that unbelievably quick police response, the shooter still shot 17 people, killing 5 people and himself. Tragically, the only way lives could have been saved that day, is if a person in that room was carrying a gun. The whole concept of conceal carry is that the gun is concealed. Unless you know otherwise, you wouldn’t know the person sitting next to you in class is armed. If the thought of being near a person who might be carrying a firearm makes you nervous, you might need to move to a different state. In Oklahoma, it is legal for someone with a conceal carry license to be armed nearly everywhere except for government buildings, schools and universities. This is the same in the 39 other states that allow concealed carry. The odds are, if you go to see a movie, shop at Wal-mart or pick up food at the grocery store, someone around is legally carrying a concealed firearm. Universities are not some sacred zone where criminals and attention-starved gunmen suddenly start obeying gun laws. The state of Oklahoma has already determined these concealed license holders to be responsible enough to carry a gun everywhere else, how does this change the moment they step onto campus? |
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Have a listen, perhaps get some inspiration. Shawn Kranish radio interview |