Xorak on 15/5/2011 at 01:16
I used to think the right to lawfully carry handguns was an archaic habit, but now I say fair play to those that wish to do so. The criminals will always get the guns they want anyways. Despite what the propaganda claims, lawful gun owners account for such a small portion of any real gun violence. To me, it's fair to have the power to arm yourself against criminals, especially when modern society is not capable and intelligent enough to protect you. We cannot make ourselves victims and give up control to either the bully-criminals or a government administration that works for itself first. Hell, I say shoot every hardened criminal until not one is left standing, but that's just me. Then no one will really have the need to carry a gun.
But with that said, I don't think that students really should be carrying guns to school.
Muzman on 15/5/2011 at 01:38
Ahh, but criminals won't be able to get guns if they are controlled. Thereby we see modern society plenty capable and intelligent enough to protect you.
But that really doesn't have much to do with concealed carry on a University campus, I admit.
(I don't think we're really following AR_Master's playbook very well so far. It's incomplete anyway. There should be a couple of steps where he pops in and calls everyone faggots).
Tocky on 15/5/2011 at 02:57
Look, if we outlaw guns then how will we get a bullet into all those folks who need one in them? There are a lot of them in the US.
SD on 15/5/2011 at 03:34
Quote Posted by Azaran
I just saw this story...shocked me quite a bit
Let this be a lesson to you: nothing that Texans ever do should come as a shock.
gunsmoke on 15/5/2011 at 06:40
Am I the only one here who has a conceal-carry permit?
CCCToad on 15/5/2011 at 10:35
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
Am I the only one here who has a conceal-carry permit?
Nope, although in practice I very rarely use it because I'm always either traveling somewhere where I'm not allowed to have it (work, church, etc) or somewhere that it would be incredibly stupid to bring a firearm(ie, nightlife or social gatherings).
Muzman on 15/5/2011 at 12:24
Quote Posted by Tocky
Look, if we outlaw guns then how will we get a bullet into all those folks who need one in them? There are a lot of them in the US.
Some sort of syringe might do the trick. An easy to swallow capsule of some sort?
(The US situation is kinda complicated, I know. But a lot of people repeat the pro-gun and NRA memes about the impossibility of control and other such stuff. It's good to remind them that it's not the whole story once in a while, is all.)
:cheeky:
CCCToad on 15/5/2011 at 17:27
I don't subscribe to that because anyone says so.
I subscribe to it because the U.S. has historically done a piss poor job of controlling anything thats illegal, and because the smuggling routes into the U.S. are more wide open than Koki's bunghole so that imports would be almost impossible to stop at this point in time.
heywood on 15/5/2011 at 23:42
Quote Posted by Azaran quoting from Guardian
"
...
Supporters call it a self-defence and guns rights issue. UT-System chancellor, Francisco Cigarroa, wrote to politicians and Governor Rick Perry outlining concerns that the measure will lead to more campus crime and suicides.
Hearings were dominated by testimony from supporters who had been raped or assaulted on college campuses, and several people who had survived the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech University when a gunman killed 32 people.
...
Wentworth, recalling the shooting at Virginia Tech, said he wanted to give students a chance to defend themselves.
"There was no one there to defend themselves in a gun-free zone that was a victim-rich zone," he said. "I'm trying to avoid that type of situation."
...
The above logic is bass ackwards since the Virginia Tech shooter was a lawful gun owner.
The root cause of VT was the failure of the instant background check system to identify someone not eligible to buy a gun. The shooter was under treatment for mental illness on and off since childhood and had recently been ordered by a judge to enter another treatment program after stalking a woman. He shouldn't have been eligible to purchase a gun but the streamlined instant background check system didn't pick it up.
The solution here is to make sure the background checks are more thorough, not to make sure there are enough armed civilians on campus to take him down.
I grew up hunting in upstate NY which had a very onerous process for handgun permits. I remember it required a whole bunch of paperwork, numerous checks, and a year to get my handgun permit. Not concealed carry, just a handgun permit. I don't think it should take that long, but I do think the bar has to be raised in states like Virginia to weed out the impulse buyers and people who don't take gun ownership responsibility seriously. I think anyone who needs a gun *right now* probably shouldn't have one.
Besides that, somehow there has to be better traceability. Way too many crime guns are being stolen, in some cases for real and in some cases reported stolen to cover up an illegal sale. And way too many are being sold legally in states with looser regulations and then trafficked across state lines. Obviously, there have to be networks of "serial" purchasers who are then reselling on the black market. Why aren't we finding more of them?
And that brings me to my main issue with the change to Texas law. While I'm not too concerned about faculty carrying on campus, the thought of students possessing them on campus really worries me. Having been one, I question whether college students can be responsible enough to carry. What's going to happen when the guy carrying the firearm passes out drunk?
