Campus Carry

Weapons grade: Students fight to pack heat

Unfortunately I was not aware of this before last Friday, but last week was Empty Holster week on college campuses all over America. (Not here in Oregon; instead, students simulated celebrating the event by spending their spare time in a "T.A.G." simulation called "Humans VS Zombies" (HVZ).

That must be a step in the right direction.

The only thing I got out of the event was this poster:



I posted this on the interior wall of my cell cubicle at the office. I wanted to make a statement, but I didn't want to offend anyone.

I guess that I just made a statement about myself, didn't I?


Anyway, I managed to miss the opportunity to wear an empty holster on campus, just as I did in 2007 and 2008.

(I didn't even mention it in 2009, or at least I can't find a reference to the event in my archives from last year. If it means anything, at least I noticed it this year ... even though I didn't get around to writing about it until it was over. Hmmmmm ... Emmerson said that "consistency is the hobgoblin of petty minds". This article is becoming even more revealing than I had ever expected. Perhaps I should move on to a safer topic?)

But before I do, I note that according to the Denver Post, on April 15, 2010, a Colorado court revived a suit seeking to allow guns on Colorado University campus.

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in favor of a group seeking to allow students with concealed gun permits to carry their weapons on campus.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus had argued that a 1994 University of Colorado policy banning concealed weapons violated state gun laws, particularly the Concealed Carry Act of 2003.

The ruling revives a lawsuit that a judge dismissed last year and could affect other Colorado campuses. Colorado State University approved a campus weapons ban similar to CU's in February.

CU is considering an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court, university spokesman Ken McConnellogue said.

CSU spokeswoman Michele McKinney said the university is reviewing the court decision, too.

SCCC and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners filed a complaint Wednesday against CSU in Larimer County District Court, saying the ruling clears the way to overturn weapons bans.

Dudley Brown, executive director of RMGO, said in statement Thursday, "CSU's ban only had one legitimate leg to stand on, and now even that's gone."

The article also mentioned that:

Many college campuses nationwide ban concealed weapons, but gun-rights advocates say gun-free campuses make students vulnerable to attack. Currently, 26 states ban concealed weapons on any school property. Twenty-three states, including Colorado, allow individual campuses to decide.

Which takes us right back to the poster, so prominently displayed above.

(If you want your own copy of the poster, which prints so nicely on an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, see the original WND article here.)