I bet the wackos don't get too far on Utah's college campuses...

[bull]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18355953/


Updated: 6:02 a.m. PT April 28, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY - Brent Tenney says he feels pretty safe when he goes to class at the University of Utah, but he takes no chances. He brings a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic with him every day.

"It's not that I run around scared all day long, but if something happens to me, I do want to be prepared," said the 24-year-old business major, who has a concealed-weapons permit and takes the handgun everywhere but church.

After the massacre at Virginia Tech that left 33 dead, some have suggested that the carnage might have been lower if a student or professor with a gun had stepped in.

As states and colleges across the country review their gun policies in light of the tragedy, many in Utah are proud to have the nation's only state law that expressly allows the carrying of concealed weapons at public colleges.

"If government can't protect you, you should have the right to protect yourself," said Republican state Sen. Michael Waddoups.

Utah legislators and law enforcement authorities said they knew of no modern-day shootings at the university. But one lawmaker cited a shooting rampage in Mississippi in 1997 as an example of how allowing others on campus to arm themselves can improve safety: After a teenager shot two students to death at Pearl High School, an assistant principal chased the gunman down outside and held him at bay with a .45-caliber pistol he kept in his truck.

Nationwide, 38 states — including Virginia — ban weapons at schools. Of those, 16 explicitly prohibit weapons on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In other states, each school is allowed to formulate its own policy.

University lost court case
For decades, the University of Utah banned concealed weapons.

"Our view was that there was an increased risk of both accidental and intentional discharge of a firearm if more firearms are present," said spokesman Fred Esplin. "It was a matter of safety."

But in 2004 the Legislature passed a law expressly saying the university is covered by a state law that allows concealed weapons on state property. The university challenged the law, but the Utah Supreme Court upheld it last year.

Utah is easily one of the most conservative states, and the Legislature is dominated by Republicans, many of whom have a libertarian streak. Utah has no motorcycle helmet law, for example, and there is strong affection for the Second Amendment.

The carrying of guns at the university worries students like Timmy Allin, a freshman on the tennis team from Dallas who feels safe on the 28,000-student urban campus. Allin was not aware weapons were allowed on campus until told by a reporter.

more here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18355953/

[moparguy01]

I would feel more safe in a room with a thousand licensed concealed carry permit holders with loaded firearms than in a room on a campus which bans concealed carry for legal law abiding citizens who would otherwise be eligible for a concealed carry permit.

when you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns.

[Mean 318]

 

[Charger1973]

 

[ck1]

I would feel more safe in a room with a thousand licensed concealed carry permit holders with loaded firearms than in a room on a campus which bans concealed carry for legal law abiding citizens who would otherwise be eligible for a concealed carry permit.

when you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns.

only if those thousand licenced concealed carry permit people knew how to handle a gun,  don't get me wrong I'm with you but have you been around a person who wants to get into fire arms and never been trained or has not every grew up or even handled a gun?  I have been around guns my entire life and been around people who haven't, one person who I sold a gun to that never held one and it was  down right scary, if you never owned a gun or are unfamiliar, get some training there not toys and aren't as easy and safe to operate like what you see on TV, but yes I would feel safer around a people who are familiar with fire arms in a situation like this......

[moparguy01]

For the permits that I currently have there are proficiency tests. not just a "sign here and here's your permit" deal.

[hemihead]

I would feel more safe in a room with a thousand licensed concealed carry permit holders with loaded firearms than in a room on a campus which bans concealed carry for legal law abiding citizens who would otherwise be eligible for a concealed carry permit.

when you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns.

only if those thousand licenced concealed carry permit people knew how to handle a gun,  don't get me wrong I'm with you but have you been around a person who wants to get into fire arms and never been trained or has not every grew up or even handled a gun?  I have been around guns my entire life and been around people who haven't, one person who I sold a gun to that never held one and it was  down right scary, if you never owned a gun or are unfamiliar, get some training there not toys and aren't as easy and safe to operate like what you see on TV, but yes I would feel safer around a people who are familiar with fire arms in a situation like this......

As bad as a person who buys a Musclecar and works on it and knows nothing about it. They both could end up killing themselves or someone else.

[ck1]

For the permits that I currently have there are proficiency tests. not just a "sign here and here's your permit" deal.

I got mine in Washington State in the early 90's and all they did was do a back ground check and they took my thumb print then made me pay a fee and that was it.  They call it here a license to carry a concealed pistol permit, might have changed since then.  i wanted mine mostly to transport a hunting rifle with ammo out of site to hunting areas which I believe if you keep a gun in a gun rack in the back window your asking for it to get stolen and I know in our state you can do this with out a permit its just you have to keep the gun and ammo separate, gun in view in car truck etc. and ammo in trunk which I never understood the keeping gun in view, but that may have changed.

[ck1]

Also makes me think of the old west, why did we get away from this?  most of the population use to go around with a gun belt on and a rifle in a horses saddle, why did we get away from that?  think maybe it was because people started taking the law into there own hands?  Maybe thats not such a bad thing?  We could string car thief's up right on the spot like they did with horse thief's

[bull]

Also makes me think of the old west, why did we get away from this?  most of the population use to go around with a gun belt on and a rifle in a horses saddle, why did we get away from that?  think maybe it was because people started taking the law into there own hands?  Maybe thats not such a bad thing?  We could string car thief's up right on the spot like they did with horse thief's

I think we got away from it because fro a brief time in our history there were three or four decades of domestic peace and prosperity. We stayed away when that ended because of political correctness, which I honestly think is going to be the death of us if it's taken to its extreme (and it's headed that direction).

[CharlieCharger]

I would feel more safe in a room with a thousand licensed concealed carry permit holders with loaded firearms than in a room on a campus which bans concealed carry for legal law abiding citizens who would otherwise be eligible for a concealed carry permit.

when you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns.

Remember the same law that allowed law abiding citizens to own a handgun allowed the same lil a@@hole to get a gun and shoot up all those kids..Damn the people trying to abolish The Second Amendment..some of these people need psych evaluations though.

[Mopar440+6]

Remember the same law that allowed law abiding citizens to own a handgun allowed the same lil a@@hole to get a gun and shoot up all those kids..Damn the people trying to abolish The Second Amendment..some of these people need psych evaluations though.

Had the law been applied correctly, that "lil axxhole" wouldn't have been able to buy those guns. He was a permanent resident of the U.S. but he was not a U.S. citizen. According to the laws he shouldn't have been able to buy any gun, pistol or long gun. I blame the dealer for that.

Being a college student, Penn State myself and a large number of friends at VT, this whole issue hits real close to home. Pennsylvania allows concealed carry and I have been around firearms my entire life. I could have gotten my concealed carry permit and a handgun a few months ago but I haven't because I refuse to carry a handgun without taking another training course (I'll be doing that this summer). The problem is PSU doesn't allow weapons (pocket knives, blade length limited, being the exception) on campus. Considering that even the campus police aren't allowed to carry guns I honestly don't feel safe on campus.

If someone is corrupt enough to kill another human being they are not going to be concerned with gun control laws...

[CharlieCharger]

Remember the same law that allowed law abiding citizens to own a handgun allowed the same lil a@@hole to get a gun and shoot up all those kids..Damn the people trying to abolish The Second Amendment..some of these people need psych evaluations though.

Had the law been applied correctly, that "lil axxhole" wouldn't have been able to buy those guns. He was a permanent resident of the U.S. but he was not a U.S. citizen. According to the laws he shouldn't have been able to buy any gun, pistol or long gun. I blame the dealer for that.

Being a college student, Penn State myself and a large number of friends at VT, this whole issue hits real close to home. Pennsylvania allows concealed carry and I have been around firearms my entire life. I could have gotten my concealed carry permit and a handgun a few months ago but I haven't because I refuse to carry a handgun without taking another training course (I'll be doing that this summer). The problem is PSU doesn't allow weapons (pocket knives, blade length limited, being the exception) on campus. Considering that even the campus police aren't allowed to carry guns I honestly don't feel safe on campus.

If someone is corrupt enough to kill another human being they are not going to be concerned with gun control laws...

I don't see why the cops couldn't carry weapons..They sure as hell have resource officers in Elementary schools here who carry weapons..What the hell is up with that..Liberal society with there damn soft touch policies.

[Charger_Fan]

I think that only Utah's state owned colleges allow concealed weapons, the ones that are church owned still don't. I may be wrong, I'm just going from what I remember hearing the story when the state owned colleges got the green light a few years ago.
In light of what's happened on school grounds in the last few years, it's rediculous that guns are still banned on some campuses.

[Mopar440+6]

I don't see why the cops couldn't carry weapons..They sure as hell have resource officers in Elementary schools here who carry weapons..What the hell is up with that..Liberal society with there damn soft touch policies.

It's not that the campus police couldn't be armed, it's that the school and/or state government won't allow them to. I believe the reasoning behind this is that local and state police are supposed to handle any issues more severe than traffic tickets. I thought police were supposed to "protect and serve." Explain to me how the campus police are going to protect themselves against criminal nutjobs, much less an unarmed populus, when they aren't allowed to arm themselves...

I think that only Utah's state owned colleges allow concealed weapons, the ones that are church owned still don't. I may be wrong, I'm just going from what I remember hearing the story when the state owned colleges got the green light a few years ago. In light of what's happened on school grounds in the last few years, it's rediculous that guns are still banned on some campuses.

C_F, IIRC you are correct. Utah's state owned universities allow concealed carry but the privately owned colleges allow it at their discretion (and typically they don't allow it). But if law abiding citizens are not allowed to protect themselves, who is going to protect us from someone who has no respect for the law?