From Arbiteronline, Boise State University's independent student newspaper, comes a letter from the editor-in-chief, Dustin Lapray. Mr. Lapray approaches the issue of campus carry with more honesty than Linsen Li at the University of Kentucky's Kentucky Kernel, but reaches some contradictory conclusions. Here is the letter, with my comments in red.
Today on the quad The Arbiter is hosting a Free Speech Forum, with the topic "Guns on Campus."
We decided to open our media to students because we honestly are not sure how they feel about this. Our online forum flooded with pro-gun writers who bashed on everyone who refused to accept weapons on campus. Only a few comments online were from students. Anyone can post at arbiteronline.com, even people who are not students.
We want to know how students at Boise State University feel, so we will be on the quad today, rain or shine, asking you how you feel about allowing guns on campus. (Good idea, just don't get caught up in the "feeling" thing. Depend on critical thinking. gbw)
Our editorial board had such diverse and complicated opinions on this subject we were forced to write each of our opinions individually in Monday's paper. (Honest)
As state legislators work their way toward a solution, the students of this campus are left waiting, unsure of what this will mean to us.
One thing that is certain is the trend of violence we have seen on college and university campuses in the last year needs to stop. We cannot continue to kill each other. (Statistically, your age group is more at risk for murder. Humanly speaking, there are some very disturbed individuals out there who are unpredictable, and their actions are not preventable. In light of these two facts, wouldn't it make more sense to focus on protection in addition to prevention? gbw)
For those out there who have been calling college students cowards for not wanting guns on campus, I think you have us mistaken. It's not that we are afraid of guns, it's that we are honestly afraid of the people who wield them. Realize that, yes, if students are allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus, they will be able to stop would-be murderers from a continued rampage, but also that passage of this law would also allow those same criminals the same right to legally bring weapons on campus. (Well, not really. Responsible, law-abiding people act responsibly and obey the law. Criminals do what they want regardless of the law. No one has the right to use a weapon to commit a crime. Please remember, it isn't the weapon that's dangerous; it is the person who carries it with ill intent. gbw)
By legalizing concealed weapons on campus we are inviting anyone who wants to carry a gun to bring one. BSU is a metropolitan university, in the heart of an active city. I have seen dozens of homeless people and absolute creeps walking around campus, some of whom are sex-offenders and others are just people I misconstrue as dangerous. (It isn't an invitation, it's a warning; we are not sheep here. Wolves look elsewhere for victims. I could carry on your campus every single day, and your safety is not compromised by it. In fact, as you noted above, it might even save lives. Please do not make the mistake that criminals need an invitation to bring a firearm on campus. They will do what they want to do, remember? gbw)
I am always on the lookout for others willing and able to due harm to students at this campus. I think that as a student leader it is my responsibility to keep an eye out for my employees, to assure them of a safe working environment. (Awareness is the first and best tool of self-defense. Good for you. But as Dennis Miller says, "A nutter is always gonna get the drop on you." Awareness is not enough. gbw)
There are people willing to commit these crimes. Legalizing guns on campus would make them able. I don't want that atmosphere of kill or be killed to exist on this campus. That atmosphere should exist in open war (which is why the Second Amendment was added to the constitution, to assure that when push came to shove, Americans could protect their homes), but not on a university campus. There is no war in Idaho. (How does allowing responsible, law-abiding adult students the means to defend themselves if attacked enabling criminals? There is no logic to your statement. And the U.S. was not at war when the Constitution was written or ratified. Part of the security of a free state is also the safety and security of individual citizens. gbw)
I do agree that the police are not in position to stop this from happening. In both of these major shootings, the gunmen killed themselves. I have seen nothing from Boise Police to make me think things are different at BSU.
But the consensus of my staff is that guns are plum dangerous, that people who wield them are often irresponsible and that though there are people out there who are very responsible with their weapons, we don't want them here.
Sincerely,
Dustin Lapray
Editor-in-Chief
(OK. You have no confidence in the police to protect you. That's smart because police respond, they are seldom in a position to prevent or protect. "There are people willing to commit these crimes", so the crimes are obviously going to happen. But in spite of these facts, you want to limit the ability to responsible, law-abiding adults to protect themselves from the criminally irresponsible you readily admit are present in community. I'm sorry Mr. Lapray, but not wanting him there does not make the boogey man go away. gbw)
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