Williams: Concealed carry should be enough for gun owners

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Virginia are all considering legislation that would allow people to carry concealed guns on campus-a right that people on Utah's college and university campuses already have. None of the states were successful.

The desire to protect oneself at school has become an ever-growing issue, primarily because of the 28 attacks at schools in the United States since May 2000. Although it's not a new trend, a 2002 study conducted by the Secret Service and Department of Education examined evidence from 37 attacks of targeted schools between 1974 and 2000. All 65 of these shootings occurred at gun-free zones.

Utah is the only state that has a law allowing people permits to carry concealed weapons on campus. The law was adopted in 2004, and in September 2006 Utah's Supreme Court overruled the U's former campus gun ban.

Now, more than ever, students and teachers from schools across the United States are demanding this same right to bear arms. There's even a national organization called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus that has more than 30,000 members and focuses on changing laws to allow citizens to carry concealed hand guns on campus.

The major issue at the U isn't whether or not you can carry, but the ability to carry openly versus concealed. Debates ran rampant on campus until the issue ultimately died at the Senate in March. And that's exactly where it should stay-dead.

The ability to conceal a weapon is all that is needed to protect yourself and your fellow classmates from a targeted attack. It might be a pain and not as comfortable to conceal your weapon, but it is effective and efficient.

Utahns should be thankful they are allowed to have guns on campus and quit trying to push the system. It could very easily backfire and inspire gun opponents to try and reinstate the original ban.

"The problem with carrying open is someone wanting to take your weapon away from you," said Sergeant Arb Nordgren of campus police. "It's the biggest concern for a police officer."

Crime statistics from the U's Department of Safety report zero firearm incidences on campus in 2005 and 2006. Perhaps criminals with guns don't want to work in these areas because they understand there's a possibility their victims could be packing.

The requirements of being allowed to conceal carry are much more stringent than open carry. To receive a concealed weapons permit you must be 21, have a valid driver's license, be fingerprinted, have an extensive FBI background check conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and pass a written and shooting range test.

The BCI reports that only about 2 percent of permits are revoked each year. This helps guarantee that people who obtain and keep CWPs are mostly law-abiding citizens who, unlike open carry individuals, have proven their worthiness to carry concealed guns.

Most people don't like guns. They don't want to see them, especially at school. They want to believe they are in a perfectly safe bubble and think guns are for bad guys and violent movies. It's wasted energy to attempt to change their minds. Trying to force acceptance by openly carrying will not change their opinions. It will only create a hostile environment and increase their efforts to eliminate guns on campus.

When you conceal carry, nobody is the wiser. People who are anti-gun don't have to get nervous, and permit holders still have their weapons with them on campus. U gun owners should have appreciation for all they enjoy, not muddle the system with unnecessary demands. Concealed carry is a perfect scenario and something many other states can only dream about. Let's just allow open carry to rest in peace.

By: Alicia Williams, The Daily Utah Chronicle

Anti-violence group questions school gun policy

Controversial move authorized employees to carry firearms

An anti-gun organization released a report this month questioning the legality of a controversial decision made by one North Texas school district allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns in the classroom.

The Harrold Independent School District applied a Texas penal code to authorize school employees to carry firearms. The purpose of the policy was to enable employees to respond to emergency situations in an effective and timely manner, according to the policy.

The controversial decision prompted anti-gun organizations in Texas to analyze the legality of the district's decision.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a national nonprofit organization working to fight gun-related violence, hired a legal consultant to analyze the penal code and predict potential consequences.

Mike McAnally, spokesman for the organization, said arming school teachers is a dangerous response to the risks of school violence, and when analyzing the facts of the case, the study found that it was illegal for teachers to carry guns in schools.

"It was a stupid idea in the first place," McAnally said. "They are making the issue bigger than it is and actually submitting the students to possibly increased violence."

McAnally said the report cited Gary Kleck, a gun policy researcher, who discovered that the penal code was not intended to allow school districts within Texas to arm teachers. The law states the school district may employ security personnel or a commissioned peace officer.

The small school district, located 150 miles north of Fort Worth and made up of 110 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, spent a year researching the possibility of allowing teachers to have guns in the classroom. Superintendent David Thweatt said the school board made a unanimous decision last October to move forward with the new law.

The average time to respond to an emergency call in the district is 20 to 30 minutes, and the decision by the school board was made with the safety of the children in mind, Thweatt said.

The report showed that state anti-gun policies have been effective in reducing the risks of gun violence on Texas campuses. It also indicates that fewer than 1 percent of school-age homicide victims are killed on school grounds, on the way to school or in the classroom.

"The law is fraught with problems," McAnally said. "The superintendent used the term 'common sense' when the school board made its decision, but it's just the opposite."

McAnally said the decision implies a lack of confidence with law enforcers and the local sheriff's department.

Thweatt said the teachers who do choose to carry guns are required to be trained and commissioned under the law to carry firearms.

McAnally said the Brady Center plans to release a similar report regarding the legality and possible consequences of proposed legislation allowing students to carry concealed handguns on college campuses.

By: Erin Mulvaney, The Daily Texan

SECOND AMENDMENT: Gun control debate cools off

Water, immigration, other issues taking Western spotlight for change

CARSON CITY -- The never-ending battle between gun control supporters and Second Amendment advocates has nearly fallen off the charts as a significant issue either in Nevada or the West, a Review-Journal poll says.

Water issues, immigration and climate change all rate much higher as concerns for residents of Nevada, as well as neighboring Western states including Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, according to the poll by Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.

Although the issue rates low in importance, cited by only 2 percent of both Nevadans and Western residents polled on a variety of issues, the consensus appears to be satisfaction with the level of gun control now in place, said Brad Coker, the polling firm's managing partner.

The Nevada poll results show that 14 percent believe current state gun control laws are too strict, with 41 percent saying not restrictive enough and 38 percent viewing them as adequate. The remainder are not sure.

Regionally among the six states, the numbers are 14 percent viewing their laws as too restrictive, 34 percent not restrictive enough and 46 percent as adequate with the rest not sure.

Coker said that for the purposes of political analysis, those viewing gun laws as adequate can be combined with those viewing them as too restrictive, meaning that gun control is likely to be a status quo issue in Nevada and Western state legislatures, he said.

"The demand for change is not there," Coker said. "Those who want to push gun control will have problems in the West."

The regional poll was commissioned by the Review-Journal, the Denver Post and the Salt Lake Tribune. The margin of error for the regional poll results is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The Nevada component of the poll of 400 likely voters was conducted Aug. 13 to 15. The margin for error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

One Nevada resident who participated in the poll, Lou Schettino of Las Vegas, said he would like tougher gun laws, to the point where handgun ownership would be banned. He was among the 41 percent of Nevadans who said gun laws are not restrictive enough.

"And I'm a Republican," he said. "My son was a policeman in New York City. As far as I am concerned, we need to take handguns off the street."

Schettino said he has heard constant stories from his son about random and senseless killings involving handguns.

"I feel for any policeman or the family of a police officer," Schettino said.

Coker said gun issues in state legislatures now appear to address more tangential subjects, such as concealed weapons permits.

"The issues are around the edges," he said. "No one is saying repeal the Brady Bill or do away with waiting periods."

Nevada state Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who in 2007 proposed a bill that would have allowed teachers with the appropriate training to carry concealed weapons on school grounds, said gun-related legislation is more focused now on narrow issues rather than the big debates over gun rights.

"Nationally there is fairly broad Republican and Democratic support for the Second Amendment," Beers said.

The issues that come up have more to do with tweaking existing laws, such as the recent discussion of reciprocity between states on the ability of their properly trained and authorized citizens to carry concealed weapons in other jurisdictions, Beers said.

When gun-related legislation comes up, there is less citizen reaction to it, either positive or negative, than there has been in previous years, he said.

Beers said he does not know whether he will try again with his bill to allow teachers to carry weapons, which was proposed both to counter potential terrorism and as a deterrent to school violence. The measure failed on a 4-2 vote in a Senate committee last year.

By: Sean Whaley, Las Vegas Review-Journal