Department of Interior updates regulations to allow concealed carry
December 9, 2008
I wrote this post for Radio Vice Online, and am crossposting here. …
Maybe we should include a feature called “Second Amendment Tuesday” here on the blog and the radio show. There are quite a few stories that have popped up during the last couple of weeks concerning boisterous buying at our local Second Amendment shops, but here are a couple of stories that have been below the fold and under the radar; and one from a commentator who’s plain wrong. Read more
UK think tank thinking… If we all carried a gun
December 8, 2008
I do not advocate everyone carry a self defense weapon. Some may be more comfortable carrying than others, some have time to train, others do not. One thing is for certain, states and cities that allow citizens to carry self defense weapons do have less crime for the simple fact that criminals prefer target rich environments and victims who have fewer options to protect themselves and their family.
Richard Munday over at the Times Online (UK) has a comment piece that discusses the Mumbai attack that killed or wounded 500, along with historical examples from Britain and the United States concerning the right to carry.
San Francisco mayor blames NRA for triple homicide
July 22, 2008
I’m questioning future visits to San Francisco until this idiot Gavin Newsom is out of office. He actually smiles as he says the NRA is against “anything that restricts the opportunity for a guy who gets cut off in traffic from pulling out a hand gun and almost assassinating an entire family, as was the case a few days ago in San Francisco, where three people were gunned down. That somehow that is appropriate and wonderful and that person celebrated his freedom to carry a loaded pistol”.
Is he nuts? He’s trying to pin the drive-by, mid-day, Sunday afternoon, gang-land style attack and murder of a father and his two sons on the National Rifle Association. Read more
The Incremental Approach to Concealed Carry
March 16, 2008
On Friday, Malkin’s fill-in blogger, see-dubya, reminded us about Oklahoma’s House bill 2513 that allows for some changes to the state’s firearm laws. Last Thursday, the NRA-ILA reported that an amended version of the bill, authored by Jason Murphey, Republican state representative from the 31st District, will allow for military veterans who possess a valid concealed carry permit to lawfully carry a concealed handgun on Oklahoma’s public college and university campuses.
This incremental approach to allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons may be considered a win for supporters of the 2nd Amendment, but remember that rights that are given by the government can easily be taken away. Read more
“Safe” is a Relative Term [Updated]
February 14, 2008
Just watching Fox News with their first live report concerning the tragedy that is unfolding at Northern Illinois University. Another sad day for students, as a white male walked into a packed lecture hall with three firearms and started shooting. He then killed himself. As of this writing, he’s murdered four students.
Update: Six Five killed as of Friday morning, and the shooter identified as 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak — former Northern Illinois University graduate student.
Prayers go out to the faculty, staff and students at NIU. No one wants these events to happen on campus. Young adults at that age should be having a good time, making life-long friends and learning a few things along the way.
A freshman being interviewed by the Fox correspondent mentioned an incident in December that led university officials to close the campus during finals week.
The school was closed for one day during final exam week in December after campus police found threats, including racial slurs and references to shootings earlier in the year at Virginia Tech, scrawled on a bathroom wall in a dormitory. Police determined after an investigation that there was no imminent threat and the campus was reopened.
The young lady being interviewed was heading home. She said she was “too close.” She also mentioned that after the incident in December that the university staff and police said “they were safe.”
No, you were not. Safe is defined as being secure from danger, harm, or evil. Safe is a relative term.
NIUs Student Code of Conduct (PDF, 1.65mb) prohibits weapons including shotguns and handguns on campus. If students wish to bring firearms onto campus, they must get permission and leave them at the University Security Office. Reports state that the shooter was not a NIU student, but may have been a student from another school.
After the Virginia Tech tragedy, a dialog began concerning students carrying concealed weapons on campus. Many law-biding, qualified citizens are allowed to carry a concealed weapon, but they are being denied that right at some schools.
We must be open to allowing these young adults – and teachers – to carry a firearm so they have an opportunity to defend themselves. It’s their right to do so. Give them the opportunity to level the playing field during tragedies like this.
Students will never be safe on campus, and we need to stop giving the impression that schools are safe just because the code of conduct bans weapons.
More at Malkin and Instapundit.
Note: Illinois is one of two states – the other being Wisconsin – where your right to carry is denied. (Washington D.C. also denies this right) You may not carry a pistol concealed or open. When traveling with firearms, laws require that they be locked up and inaccessible. You can find more information concerning your state laws at one of the Web sites listed below, or at your state government’s Web site.
