Right To Bear Arms On Campus?

(CBS)  In Thomas McCrory's morning routine, he gets his books, and gets his gun. He's ready for school.

McCrory's a junior at the University of Utah.

In 2006, Utah's Supreme Court explicitly allowed guns on college campuses for anyone with a concealed weapons permit, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports.

It's the only state where that's allowed.

You carry it on your hip?

"Yeah, I carry it on my side, underneath the jacket," McCrory said.

McCrory, a ski-patroler, was paralyzed in a 60-foot fall. He felt vulnerable.

Then came the massacres at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University.

He started carrying a gun.

"It's a comfort to me knowing that I would have a fighting chance if something like that would happen," he said.

Now lawmakers in nine other states are debating whether guns belong on college campuses.

Georgia's one of them.

"How many kids must die before we realize that firearms in law-abiding hands actually save lives?" asked Georgia state Rep. Tim Bearden, a gun-rights advocate.

But the University of Georgia's police chief says more guns would make it harder to spot the real threat.

"There's only going to be a split-second there," said University of Georgia police chief Jimmy Williamson. "And I could see innocent people being shot by police."

A lot about this scares critics - starting with the image of armed college kids at a Saturday night keg party. And Utah's law says nothing about marksmanship. Students carrying a gun may have no idea how to use it.

But many in Utah are eager to learn.

"There are evil people out there," said Utah senior Molly Metcalf. "I don't know, I just want to feel safe."

McCrory practices every week - a growing trend in his undergraduate business school.

"At any given day, there's at least a dozen people within a hundred yards of me that are armed," he said.

Now students in other states want to arm themselves ... with the right to return fire.

[billorights]

To dragonwagon5 -

Actually, I do not carry any weapon, 24/7 or otherwise. Here in the Republik of Southern Kalifornia, the average citizen cannot qualify for a Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) permit, because as you know, here in a purely urban setting, self defense is not necessary because we have a police force capable of preventing any harm from coming to you.

Additionally, my comments were not related specifically to carrying a concealed weapon for defensive purposes. It is conceivable that an individual would have to defend themselves or their family from a threat outside the effective range of the average handgun. In such a situation, a handgun would be useless. Need an example? How about if your friendly neighborhood assailant is shooting at you with a rifle from beyond handgun range? True, it is not an everyday occurrence, but it is not inconceivable. Can you recall any riots happening in the last 100 years? Would you rather see your neighbor carrying a rifle, or a carload of armed thugs stopping to pay a visit at your house?

[michellem99-2009]

I can''t bear arms as I lack the sight and hearing to use it properly. Yes it is a right but the young feel they have to own a ton of fire power..They were raised on TV, so they saw that stuff growing up. They fell for hollywood''s wild west and is sad. If they were raised right then the gun would not be on their mind and 24/7. True it is a right that is abused. When the fathers sat down as a people they had the right idea for America. We were young Nation. We did not have a military,police, so they had to be citizen military and cop. Now they are in place. We have talked about this at family table.Ye don''t need a bloody gun just to prove what a bad asre ye are. Every day some one pulls it. My sighted friend said if they do it will be used. Ye want to bear it fine just put a means in it so only the proper owner can use it by their print. They talk about such a system that is all it is.TALK. I think the fathers would be in horror had they been able to see today.

[guadalcanal3]

Arming students???...on campus???...I think I''ll settle for home education.

[billorights]

I was thinking more along the lines of military issue weapons like AR15''''s, AK47''''s, Mini 14''''s, M16''''s and the german HK series, just to name a few examples. These particular weapons carry up to 30 small caliber high speed tumbling rounds that can kill without actually hitting a kill zone due to their migratory characteristics and extensive tissue damage once they enter the body. Close range or long range they are deadly. Why should they be allowed? - Posted by dragonwagon5

The AR15 is the civilian (not automatic) version of the M16. The Ruger Mini 14 is a civilian semiautomatic rifle similar to the M14. The AK47 is military issue, not available for civilian purchase in the USA. There are civilian semiautomatic versions similar in appearance.These rifles are capable of accepting a magazine capable of various volumes of ammunition. Regarding your reference to tumbling rounds, do not confuse the ammunition with the rifle used to fire it. The only one of the weapons that you have referenced above known to have a tumbling characteristic is the AR15/M16. These use a .223 cal (aka 5.56mm) bullet. The jacketed military version has been known to tumble internally upon contact with bone. The other weapons use a .308 cal (aka 7.62mm) bullet known the world over as a common hunting round. Why should any of these not be allowed? The weapons are all practical in given situations for self-defense. The right to keep and bear arms is not limited to sporting weapons.

[libsrweak]

bottomline, these kids are too stupid and too pussyfied to own one let alone use to protect themselves..I would say they just revamp thier campus police and STOP CATERING TO THESE idiotic whiney people.."dont taze me bro"?? come on these college kids these days are all about "I"

iphone, ipod..

[libsrweak]

Do you think you with the gun on your hip are gonna be cool & calm when you''''re confronted with an armed criminal? You think you''''re gonna be Dirty Harry?

Posted by Keithle1 at 05:15 PM : Mar 29, 2008
+ report abuse

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no but you are changing your position away from a victim

[libsrweak]

Why should they be allowed?

Posted by dragonwagon5 at 09:34 AM : Mar 30, 2008
+ report abuse

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better yet, why do you think i should not be allowed to own one??

[michellem99-2009]

Keithle Dear AMERICA LOVES 3 THINGS...money,cars and guns..No the wild west is the bloody TV shows like Gunsmoke,have gun will travel.The bloody hollywood..Years ago it was not so crazy..They can can kick that gun out of yer paw..Not every one will be toting a gun..The human animal kills not the item..

[keithle1]

Do you think you with the gun on your hip are gonna be cool & calm when you''re confronted with an armed criminal? You think you''re gonna be Dirty Harry?

[mommajommah]

i''d like to see a statistic of how many murders have been comitted by conceal-carry permit holders. then id like to see how many students would have been spared their lives if someone had been carrying in some of these school shootings.