A Couple of My Gun Essays
I derived each of the following two essays, in part, from my earlier blog post about guns on college campuses.
In the aftermath of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, a national debate erupted over whether or not America needs stricter gun control. Eventually those heated arguments subsided. Now, eight years later, in the aftermath of the massacre at Virginia Tech, a very different debate is heating up in Texas—“Should state laws be amended to allow concealed handguns on college campuses?” This editorialist says “yes.”
To fairly consider this issue, one must first understand that nobody is seriously proposing a mass arming of college students and faculty. Nobody is suggesting that handguns be included in the orientation packets provided to entering freshmen. Nobody is recommending that every teacher be issued a laptop and a handgun. And most certainly nobody is recommending that anyone carry a concealed handgun if he or she is not willing, trained, and licensed to do so. What is being proposed is that students and faculty who have already undergone the training, testing, and background checks required to obtain concealed handgun licenses be allowed to carry their concealed handguns on campus, the same way they’re allowed to at grocery stores, banks, office buildings, etc. Since the statistics show that thousands of college faculty members and students, age twenty-one and above, legally carry concealed handguns without incident when not on campus, why should we assume they would demonstrate any less discretion or sound judgment when carrying on campus?
In Texas the background checks performed on persons applying for a concealed handgun license include both state and federal fingerprint checks, as well as research into sealed/expunged criminal records and records of mental illness. Applicants must also prove their handgun proficiency on a firing range and attend a class covering hypothetical scenarios, case studies, and the legal ramifications of using a concealed handgun. It is almost impossible to emerge from one of these classes without a grave respect for the serious responsibility of carrying a concealed handgun.
When a 2006 bill that would have given licensed individuals the right to carry on Virginia college campuses was voted down by the Virginia state legislature, Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker proclaimed, "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty, and visitors feel safe on our campus." Unfortunately, as recent events show, feeling safe is not the same as being safe. Declaring an area a “gun free zone” only frees that zone of guns carried by people intent on obeying the law.
Many of those opposed to allowing concealed handguns on college campuses claim that the presence of guns would be a distraction that would inhibit the learning environment. This argument disregards the basic premise of a concealed handgun. Licensing laws require licensees to keep their guns concealed, out of respect for those who might be uncomfortable seeing openly carried firearms. Over a quarter of a million Texans currently possess concealed handgun licenses; however, most Texans would be hard pressed to remember the last time they noticed anyone other than a law enforcement officer “packing heat.” Properly concealed handguns are simply not noticeable to the casual observer.
Many assume that a person must have years of training, through which he or she is conditioned to have superhuman reflexes and deadeye accuracy, in order to successfully use a concealed handgun for self-defense. However, in cases like the recent massacre at Virginia Tech and the 1991 massacre at the Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, Texas, the killers worked slowly and methodically, walking up to victims and shooting them at point blank range. It takes neither superhuman reflexes nor deadeye accuracy to defend oneself against a killer who walks from victim to victim, firing from only a few feet away.
Concealed handgun license holders, as a whole, do not contribute to America’s gun problems. In fact, license holders commit felonies at a rate on par with police officers.* Quite simply put, there is absolutely no evidence suggesting that Americans have any reason to fear letting licensed individuals carry their concealed handguns on college campuses.
In CNN’s interview with Emily Haas, one of the Virginia Tech gunman’s surviving victims, she described how she and her classmates heard gunshots in the room next door and hid under their desks, “waiting and hoping [the shooter] wouldn’t come in.” But he did come in, and now Emily’s professor and ten of her classmates are dead. Perhaps, had someone in Emily’s classroom been armed with a concealed handgun, he or she could have done more than wait and hope.
*“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” John Lott and David Mustard, Journal of Legal Studies (v.26, no.1, pages 1-68, January 1997); “An Analysis of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire Texas Population,” William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000; Florida Department of Justice statistics, 1998; Florida Department of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report,” 1998; Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-News, September, 2000; Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled by the Texas State Rifle Association, www.tsra.com/arrests.htm
On April 29, in a move typical of American politics, Texas Governor Rick Perry proposed a simple solution to a complex problem—He suggested that the State Legislature could help stem the tide of mass shootings in America by allowing citizens with concealed handgun licenses to carry “anywhere.” Though I am an outspoken gun rights advocate, I contend that all decisions about where to allow and disallow licensed handgun possession should be based on an in-depth analysis of the facts, not emotional rhetoric.
On the morning of August 1, 1966, few people had ever considered the possibility that they could die in an indiscriminate mass shooting. But shortly before noon on that fateful day, a twenty-five-year-old ex-Marine climbed to the top of the University of Texas bell tower and created a worldwide reference point for such fears. Over the last forty-one years, a spate of such killing sprees has made the unbelievable all too believable. Today students are taught what to do in the event of such an attack, much the same way their parents were once taught to “duck and cover” in the event of a nuclear attack.
After a 1991 incident in which a lone gunman killed twenty-three people in a Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, Texas, many Texans lobbied the state legislature to pass laws allowing citizens to carry handguns for personal defense. In 1995, then-Governor George W. Bush signed into law legislation allowing qualified Texans to be trained and licensed to carry concealed handguns.
When it comes to the debate over gun control, concealed handgun licensing laws are an excellent compromise. Prospective licensees undergo the training and stringent background checks that gun control advocates support, and in return, the licensees are allowed to carry their handguns in public, which gun rights advocates support.
Concealed handgun license holders, as a whole, do not contribute to America’s gun problems. In fact, license holders commit felonies at a rate on par with police officers.* In the thirty-nine states that issue concealed handgun licenses to any qualified applicant, licensees have saved the lives of everyone from little old ladies to police officers.
Texas’s concealed handgun licensing program is an important tool for preserving safety. Unfortunately, Rick Perry endangered its solid reputation by making a blanket statement about removing all restrictions, without first examining the facts.
It is hard to deny that many of the current restrictions placed on license holders are based more on emotion than fact. For instance, if thousands of college faculty members and students, age twenty-one and above, legally carry concealed handguns at grocery stores, banks, doctors’ offices, etc., without incident, why should we assume they would demonstrate any less discretion or sound judgment when carrying on college campuses? How does labeling colleges “gun free zones” deter someone already intent on breaking the law? Clearly these collegiate “gun free zones” are more about making people feel safer on campus than about actually making campuses safer.
There are, however, some restrictions on concealed handgun licensees which are rooted solidly in fact. The prohibition against carrying a concealed handgun into an establishment that earns 51% or more of its income from the sale of alcohol for onsite consumption is based on the well-documented link between alcohol and violence.
One of the arguments against offering concealed handgun licenses was that it would cause our state to revert to the “wild west.” Opponents claimed we would see petty arguments turn into public shootings. Twelve years after the program’s implementation, this has not proved to be the case. But allowing licensees to carry handguns in bars could still lead to this “wild west” scenario. When you look beyond the movies, at statistics from the real “wild west,” you find that the consumption of alcohol was a factor in the majority of the shootings during that period. In a 1995 study, Clare V. McKanna, Jr., professor of Native American and Latin American history at San Diego State University, found that from 1880-1920, in notoriously violent Dougles County, Nebraska, over 75% of the perpetrators of homicide were under the influence of alcohol. Statistics like that are hard to ignore. Supporters of concealed handgun licenses, including Rick Perry, would do well to accept that being unarmed is simply the price we pay for visiting a bar in Texas, lest we inadvertently help our opponents make their case against us.
Concealed handgun license holders will continue to function as asset to public safety, as long as the laws restricting them are based on fact, not emotion.
*“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” John Lott and David Mustard, Journal of Legal Studies (v.26, no.1, pages 1-68, January 1997); “An Analysis of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire Texas Population,” William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000; Florida Department of Justice statistics, 1998; Florida Department of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report,” 1998; Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-News, September, 2000; Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled by the Texas State Rifle Association, www.tsra.com/arrests.htm
College Gun Bans Are Unfounded
In the aftermath of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, a national debate erupted over whether or not America needs stricter gun control. Eventually those heated arguments subsided. Now, eight years later, in the aftermath of the massacre at Virginia Tech, a very different debate is heating up in Texas—“Should state laws be amended to allow concealed handguns on college campuses?” This editorialist says “yes.”
To fairly consider this issue, one must first understand that nobody is seriously proposing a mass arming of college students and faculty. Nobody is suggesting that handguns be included in the orientation packets provided to entering freshmen. Nobody is recommending that every teacher be issued a laptop and a handgun. And most certainly nobody is recommending that anyone carry a concealed handgun if he or she is not willing, trained, and licensed to do so. What is being proposed is that students and faculty who have already undergone the training, testing, and background checks required to obtain concealed handgun licenses be allowed to carry their concealed handguns on campus, the same way they’re allowed to at grocery stores, banks, office buildings, etc. Since the statistics show that thousands of college faculty members and students, age twenty-one and above, legally carry concealed handguns without incident when not on campus, why should we assume they would demonstrate any less discretion or sound judgment when carrying on campus?
In Texas the background checks performed on persons applying for a concealed handgun license include both state and federal fingerprint checks, as well as research into sealed/expunged criminal records and records of mental illness. Applicants must also prove their handgun proficiency on a firing range and attend a class covering hypothetical scenarios, case studies, and the legal ramifications of using a concealed handgun. It is almost impossible to emerge from one of these classes without a grave respect for the serious responsibility of carrying a concealed handgun.
When a 2006 bill that would have given licensed individuals the right to carry on Virginia college campuses was voted down by the Virginia state legislature, Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker proclaimed, "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty, and visitors feel safe on our campus." Unfortunately, as recent events show, feeling safe is not the same as being safe. Declaring an area a “gun free zone” only frees that zone of guns carried by people intent on obeying the law.
Many of those opposed to allowing concealed handguns on college campuses claim that the presence of guns would be a distraction that would inhibit the learning environment. This argument disregards the basic premise of a concealed handgun. Licensing laws require licensees to keep their guns concealed, out of respect for those who might be uncomfortable seeing openly carried firearms. Over a quarter of a million Texans currently possess concealed handgun licenses; however, most Texans would be hard pressed to remember the last time they noticed anyone other than a law enforcement officer “packing heat.” Properly concealed handguns are simply not noticeable to the casual observer.
Many assume that a person must have years of training, through which he or she is conditioned to have superhuman reflexes and deadeye accuracy, in order to successfully use a concealed handgun for self-defense. However, in cases like the recent massacre at Virginia Tech and the 1991 massacre at the Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, Texas, the killers worked slowly and methodically, walking up to victims and shooting them at point blank range. It takes neither superhuman reflexes nor deadeye accuracy to defend oneself against a killer who walks from victim to victim, firing from only a few feet away.
Concealed handgun license holders, as a whole, do not contribute to America’s gun problems. In fact, license holders commit felonies at a rate on par with police officers.* Quite simply put, there is absolutely no evidence suggesting that Americans have any reason to fear letting licensed individuals carry their concealed handguns on college campuses.
In CNN’s interview with Emily Haas, one of the Virginia Tech gunman’s surviving victims, she described how she and her classmates heard gunshots in the room next door and hid under their desks, “waiting and hoping [the shooter] wouldn’t come in.” But he did come in, and now Emily’s professor and ten of her classmates are dead. Perhaps, had someone in Emily’s classroom been armed with a concealed handgun, he or she could have done more than wait and hope.
*“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” John Lott and David Mustard, Journal of Legal Studies (v.26, no.1, pages 1-68, January 1997); “An Analysis of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire Texas Population,” William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000; Florida Department of Justice statistics, 1998; Florida Department of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report,” 1998; Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-News, September, 2000; Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled by the Texas State Rifle Association, www.tsra.com/arrests.htm
Handgun Laws Must Be Based On Fact
On April 29, in a move typical of American politics, Texas Governor Rick Perry proposed a simple solution to a complex problem—He suggested that the State Legislature could help stem the tide of mass shootings in America by allowing citizens with concealed handgun licenses to carry “anywhere.” Though I am an outspoken gun rights advocate, I contend that all decisions about where to allow and disallow licensed handgun possession should be based on an in-depth analysis of the facts, not emotional rhetoric.
On the morning of August 1, 1966, few people had ever considered the possibility that they could die in an indiscriminate mass shooting. But shortly before noon on that fateful day, a twenty-five-year-old ex-Marine climbed to the top of the University of Texas bell tower and created a worldwide reference point for such fears. Over the last forty-one years, a spate of such killing sprees has made the unbelievable all too believable. Today students are taught what to do in the event of such an attack, much the same way their parents were once taught to “duck and cover” in the event of a nuclear attack.
After a 1991 incident in which a lone gunman killed twenty-three people in a Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, Texas, many Texans lobbied the state legislature to pass laws allowing citizens to carry handguns for personal defense. In 1995, then-Governor George W. Bush signed into law legislation allowing qualified Texans to be trained and licensed to carry concealed handguns.
When it comes to the debate over gun control, concealed handgun licensing laws are an excellent compromise. Prospective licensees undergo the training and stringent background checks that gun control advocates support, and in return, the licensees are allowed to carry their handguns in public, which gun rights advocates support.
Concealed handgun license holders, as a whole, do not contribute to America’s gun problems. In fact, license holders commit felonies at a rate on par with police officers.* In the thirty-nine states that issue concealed handgun licenses to any qualified applicant, licensees have saved the lives of everyone from little old ladies to police officers.
Texas’s concealed handgun licensing program is an important tool for preserving safety. Unfortunately, Rick Perry endangered its solid reputation by making a blanket statement about removing all restrictions, without first examining the facts.
It is hard to deny that many of the current restrictions placed on license holders are based more on emotion than fact. For instance, if thousands of college faculty members and students, age twenty-one and above, legally carry concealed handguns at grocery stores, banks, doctors’ offices, etc., without incident, why should we assume they would demonstrate any less discretion or sound judgment when carrying on college campuses? How does labeling colleges “gun free zones” deter someone already intent on breaking the law? Clearly these collegiate “gun free zones” are more about making people feel safer on campus than about actually making campuses safer.
There are, however, some restrictions on concealed handgun licensees which are rooted solidly in fact. The prohibition against carrying a concealed handgun into an establishment that earns 51% or more of its income from the sale of alcohol for onsite consumption is based on the well-documented link between alcohol and violence.
One of the arguments against offering concealed handgun licenses was that it would cause our state to revert to the “wild west.” Opponents claimed we would see petty arguments turn into public shootings. Twelve years after the program’s implementation, this has not proved to be the case. But allowing licensees to carry handguns in bars could still lead to this “wild west” scenario. When you look beyond the movies, at statistics from the real “wild west,” you find that the consumption of alcohol was a factor in the majority of the shootings during that period. In a 1995 study, Clare V. McKanna, Jr., professor of Native American and Latin American history at San Diego State University, found that from 1880-1920, in notoriously violent Dougles County, Nebraska, over 75% of the perpetrators of homicide were under the influence of alcohol. Statistics like that are hard to ignore. Supporters of concealed handgun licenses, including Rick Perry, would do well to accept that being unarmed is simply the price we pay for visiting a bar in Texas, lest we inadvertently help our opponents make their case against us.
Concealed handgun license holders will continue to function as asset to public safety, as long as the laws restricting them are based on fact, not emotion.
*“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” John Lott and David Mustard, Journal of Legal Studies (v.26, no.1, pages 1-68, January 1997); “An Analysis of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire Texas Population,” William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000; Florida Department of Justice statistics, 1998; Florida Department of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report,” 1998; Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-News, September, 2000; Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled by the Texas State Rifle Association, www.tsra.com/arrests.htm
posted by Douva | 11:10 PM
1 Comments:
Excellent, well written articles.
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