guns on campus - read this!

[id10t]

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/80510

[gprsh924]

While I think there is some merit to that argument, as a college student myself, I see way to many downsides to it. The sheer number of alcohol and testosterone fueled conflicts that I see daily would not be a good thing if guns were also brought into the equation.

[KFC911]

Originally posted by mikester
A question I have, and remember I'm pro gun, how would the police have been able to identify the problem shooter with potentially 2% of the population brandishing guns themselves?

How would the police know who is the bad guy?

I've thought about this too...if a civilian had been armed at VT on Monday and attempted to intervene, I'm afraid they'd have never survived either. I do NOT have an answer...

[Moneyguy1]

And therein lies the core problem of the situation......

It was mentioned before that if more individuals were running around with firearms, the law enforcement people would be stymied in knowing who to shoot and who not to shoot.

[HardDrive]

Originally posted by gprsh924
While I think there is some merit to that argument, as a college student myself, I see way to many downsides to it. The sheer number of alcohol and testosterone fueled conflicts that I see daily would not be a good thing if guns were also brought into the equation.

+1

I am about as pro-gun as they come, but I sure don't see having guns in dorm rooms as a good idea.

Its a tough call. I feel very conflicted about all of this right now.

[KFC911]

I've got another question for those of you who are somewhat younger than myself (I'm 46). I've owned guns all my life (since I was a young teenager), but never ever did I consider having one in my possession while I was in college. Yet, in recent months (locally), an off-duty cop was shot & killed outside a local night club, and in a crowd of approx. 200 people (mostly college students), 8 handguns were confiscated. At another local university, a dorm room was invaded, and someone was shot (prominent basketball coach's son is implicated), and now the VT incident. What's going on with our college youth's cavalier attitude towards guns? I kind of understand the "gangsta" mentality, but on a college campus or at a night club...what's going on?

[cstreit]

Same here... While I certainly support the right to carry, with the antics and general craziness associated with kids fresh out from under the thumb of the parents and having full access to "intoxicants" make me wonder if it would be a good idea.

OTOH I don't really buy into "the cops wouldn't know who to shoot" arguement. The same could be used to outlaw guns entirely.

[Moneyguy1]

Keith:

Interesting. Our culture is going through a fundamental change, and I am convinced that it is not for the better. If anyone can defend the changes that eliminate the feeling of responsibility and community, I would be very happy because, as of now, I am uneasy about the direction in which we, as a society, are moving.

[jjone20]

I don't worry for me so much as my kids. I have tried to get the two girls involved in current events - at least aware of what's going on. I'll be long gone but the mess will be theirs. Guns on campus? Yikes! Have we come that far?

[legion]

Much of my wife's family went to school at Michigan Tech in the 1970's. I remember hearing that many students had rifles in their dorm rooms for deer hunting. I don't recall hearing of any incidents.

[Les Paul]

I lived in a Fraternity in the early 70's. A bunch of guys had rifles, shotguns and some had some handguns. No big deal. One guy did have a 44 mag like the one Dirty Harry carried at the time and he seemed to polish it a little bit too much for my taste.

Of course we had that lame rule where you had to smoke your dope in the parking lot after several rednecks kept *****ing about the smell.

[KFC911]

I hear what you guys are saying about hunting guns (rifles & shotguns) as they wouldn't get a second glance here in NC and are typically in the hands of sportsmen. It's the pistol packing that is incomprehensible to me....

[legion]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070418/ap_on_el_pr/virginia_tech_gun_control2008

[KFC911]

IMO, gun control is pretty much just political bs. It isn't going to happen in this country & even if it was mandated it would be impossible to enforce, much like drugs & crime. That being said, why would college students 'choose' to be packing a pistol at a night club, on campus, etc.?

[Moneyguy1]

Maybe because some (not all) of them are self absorbed, neurotic, narcissitic, or "ten feet tall and bulletproof".

Not everyone has the stability to own a firearm and the system does not differentiate well.

[island911]

Originally posted by mikester
A question I have, and remember I'm pro gun, how would the police have been able to identify the problem shooter with potentially 2% of the population brandishing guns themselves?

How would the police know who is the bad guy?

Uh . .. by the time police show up, it's over.

In fact, this bad-guy was stopped by a student who brought a gun (or two) to class. --it just happen to be the same guy who started the shooting.

Anyway, I think it's time to start letting prof's carry on the campus.

[legion]

I had a thought.

When a student newspaper gets censored, there are lawsuits on First Amendment grounds for violating the students' rights to free speech.

Could the author of this article not carry, and if caught, bring suit on Second Amendment grounds?

[1967 R50/2]

I went to VT way back when.

VT, like Texas A&M is one of the few schools that still have a Corp of Cadets. The Cadets all have access to guns. I see no way to ban them from campus given this arrangement.

Furthermore, I recall one non-cadet that the admin asked to please not bring his 6-gun to class. He was from up in the hills and had never NOT packed a gun. Same individual decided he didn't like the cafeteria food, caught a rabbit and cooked it on the lawn in front of the dorm.

Strange, but true, but also a complete aside.

I really think you can't keep weapons, be it guns, explosives or pointy sticks out of the hands of those who would use them for ill. Ask any prison guard. With minimal resources, prisoners are incredibly inventive in creating weapons out of nothing at all.

BTW: I was in the archery club. Lots of bows and hunters on campus.

[FrayAdjacent911]

Well, one needs to realize that on the VT campus, pretty much everyone was disarmed. That made them easy victims for the psychopathic shooter.

Do you think that kid would have gone to a police station instead? Not likely. He knew he'd get the maximum shock where he was.

Now, guns in college are a tricky proposition. I certainly don't go for the blanket, knee jerk reaction of the antis, and condone EVERYONE on campus carrying! Many college students are simply not mature enough to handle owning, much less carrying, a firearm. Add in lots of freedoms (parties, drugs, alchohol), and it becomes more touchy.

But even in spite of all that stuff, I think that those who are legally qualified, trained and licensed to do so, should be able to carry wherever they can.

Just one such person in the path of a psychotic killer looking for victims could have saved lives.... potentially many lives.

It comes down to this - the best thing to stop a madman with a gun, is another person with a gun.

[Purrybonker]

[QUOTE] FrayAdjacent911
It comes down to this - the best thing to stop a madman with a gun, is another person with a gun.

All you Charleton Heston wannabes have to do is ask the experts in these kinda situations...

hm... who could we possibly ask about this subject, who would possibly be the best equipped, knowledgeable and experienced in these matters.

oh, yeah - the cops. And what do they say?

hm... Doesn't it seem a bit strange that the experts in law/order (that would be the cops) are almost universal in support of gun control, yet the arm-chair law/order experts invariably disagree?

Ok, cowboy = sure, you guys know better.