Clarifying facts in conceal-and-carry debate
RJ Friedman
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Forum
First, look at how many CHL holders in Oregon have been convicted of a misdemeanor in the past four years or have ever been convicted of a felony. Zero - no criminals can get a CHL in Oregon, and this is a fact.
Well, college students are still "immature," and "only accidents and serious injuries" would be the result of us carrying, right? Wrong. See, the fact is that in the fall of 2006, all nine public college campuses in Utah started allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry on campus. None of these schools have seen one crime or accident involving guns since the inception of these policies. The same goes for Colorado State University and Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia, which invoked similar rules in 2003 and 1995, respectively.
Furthermore, the incident at the Appalachian School of Law was not an anomaly. Around one-third of post-1997 school shootings are stopped by armed citizens before police can arrive, according to research by John Lott.
Also, there are absolutely no facts showing that more law abiding citizens with guns equals more crime; rather, quite the opposite is true. Just compare the crime rates in "gun free" Washington, D.C., to those of the less-regulated Arlington, Va., which is right across the river. Besides, it's not like we are arguing for "more guns," like Fancher claims. We are just arguing for those who already have a CHL in Benton County (over 2,000 individuals) to be able to carry on campus, just like they carry to church or the grocery store. Right now, law abiding citizens can carry in Jamba Juice, but not across the street. Does this make sense? Will a killer leave his gun in the car? No.
What do you call someone with an unwarranted fear and a blatant disregard for the facts? "Irresponsible?" "Paranoid?" I say "dangerous." I do not want to be a fish in a barrel, yet that is exactly what the supporters of the Oregon University System's illegal rules are attempting to make you, me and thousands of Oregon's citizens do by promulgating unfounded paranoia.
I would love to have an open debate on this topic, and I challenge the College Democrats to come forward - unlike the school's budget or the other "bigger fish" that we have to fry, this topic concerns all of us and our safety here on campus, even if those living in denial refuse to believe something like Virginia Tech could happen at OSU.
RJ Friedman is president of the OSU College Republicans and a junior in political science. The opinions expressed in his columns do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily Barometer staff. Friedman can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.
Well, college students are still "immature," and "only accidents and serious injuries" would be the result of us carrying, right? Wrong. See, the fact is that in the fall of 2006, all nine public college campuses in Utah started allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry on campus. None of these schools have seen one crime or accident involving guns since the inception of these policies. The same goes for Colorado State University and Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia, which invoked similar rules in 2003 and 1995, respectively.
Furthermore, the incident at the Appalachian School of Law was not an anomaly. Around one-third of post-1997 school shootings are stopped by armed citizens before police can arrive, according to research by John Lott.
Also, there are absolutely no facts showing that more law abiding citizens with guns equals more crime; rather, quite the opposite is true. Just compare the crime rates in "gun free" Washington, D.C., to those of the less-regulated Arlington, Va., which is right across the river. Besides, it's not like we are arguing for "more guns," like Fancher claims. We are just arguing for those who already have a CHL in Benton County (over 2,000 individuals) to be able to carry on campus, just like they carry to church or the grocery store. Right now, law abiding citizens can carry in Jamba Juice, but not across the street. Does this make sense? Will a killer leave his gun in the car? No.
What do you call someone with an unwarranted fear and a blatant disregard for the facts? "Irresponsible?" "Paranoid?" I say "dangerous." I do not want to be a fish in a barrel, yet that is exactly what the supporters of the Oregon University System's illegal rules are attempting to make you, me and thousands of Oregon's citizens do by promulgating unfounded paranoia.
I would love to have an open debate on this topic, and I challenge the College Democrats to come forward - unlike the school's budget or the other "bigger fish" that we have to fry, this topic concerns all of us and our safety here on campus, even if those living in denial refuse to believe something like Virginia Tech could happen at OSU.
RJ Friedman is president of the OSU College Republicans and a junior in political science. The opinions expressed in his columns do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily Barometer staff. Friedman can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 13
Chris
posted 4/22/09 @ 10:13 AM PST
Great post. Thanks for getting the "real" facts out there. Hopefully now we will get less firearm fear mongers posting with no information on the subject. (Continued…)
Thomas Huffman
posted 4/22/09 @ 2:53 PM PST
Very well written, and far more factual than the previous report & editorial which were filled with politically correct hoplophobic garbage. The previous articles in the Barometer were "feel good" nonsense with no facts to back them up; Mr. (Continued…)
Mike
posted 4/22/09 @ 7:32 PM PST
I thank you for this very concise and articulate article, it's a scary fact that far too often no one steps up to answer the prejudicial anti-gun bias articles that appear daily in the media. (Continued…)
Remo Douglas
posted 4/22/09 @ 11:37 PM PST
Thank you for this response, I am a strong supporter of gun carry on campus. The american public should not be a bunch of cows hiding behind police that are on average over ten minutes from the scene, rather, shooters should be terrified of local citizenry. (Continued…)
Colin Marcum
posted 4/23/09 @ 1:04 AM PST
Nicely done Friedman,
You make a strong case for our cause and I am sure that in the near future you will be able to accomplish something towards this end. (Continued…)
JPC
posted 4/23/09 @ 6:24 PM PST
Mr. Friedman,
There's one serious flaw in your article. You put forth some facts and use specific examples to highlight the benefit of having licensed carriers utilize their right on campus. (Continued…)
TML
posted 4/24/09 @ 10:36 AM PST
Mr. Friedman,
You talk about paranoia as if the desire to carry a gun on a college campus isn't inspired by paranoia.
As the president of College Republicans, where is your faith in police protection?
Instead, you would rather have someone like one of your supporters, Mr. (Continued…)
Mike
posted 4/24/09 @ 1:21 PM PST
TML: Your argument is as misinformed as it is deliberately provocative.
First and foremost: There is no law against concealed carry on campus. The debate, whether the majority of either side realizes it, centers around the student code of conduct (and the faculty code of conduct). (Continued…)
SB
posted 4/24/09 @ 4:16 PM PST
My opinion not withstanding thanks RJ for some fact based anything in the barometer. The vast majority of op-ed in the barometer reads like my middle school essays and it's pretty freaking embarrassing. (Continued…)
Chris
posted 4/25/09 @ 7:08 PM PST
TML,
Would you bet your life on your final comment? Doubt it. And you say you could not learn or focus in a classroom where other students had firearms. (Continued…)
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