Category: Gun Rights

Bruce documents the cases that hit the press of licensed gun owners there (to own a gun in Massachusetts, you have to be licensed, and licenses are may issue to be able to own handguns), and finds that licensees seem to get a lot more negative coverage than non-licensees when they commit crimes.

This is an important reason to oppose licensing in my view.  It’ll never be spun in the media as an unusual case, but precisely because it is unusual, it will be guaranteed to attract media attention.  That will only strengthen the case for total prohibition, as our opponents will be able to point to many stories of violence at the hands of licensed gun owners.

Over at Dustin’s Gun Blog, which includes some video.

From the local news station:

“First, is to raise awareness and dispel a lot of myths about concealed carry and to show people that concelead carry actually helps reduce crime. The second goal is to get states and school administrators to change their policies.”

Clark says about 10 other ‘Nova students took part in the ”Empty Holster Protest” but he doesn’t have much hope the university will change its no-concealed weapons policy any time soon.

Looks like some good work by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.  This is one of those fights those of us who are beyond that age can’t win alone, but now that students themselves have gotten involved, and are taking their rights back themselves, perhaps we can win on this.  I would note that it’s not unlawful to carry on a college campus in Pennsylvania if you have a License to Carry Firearms (or are carrying openly), but colleges and universities, including those in the state system, can and do prevent students from doing so.  It’s silly policy when applied to people who are licensed to carry everywhere else, but it’s the academic (and corporate for that matter) mentality.

Eugene Volokh discusses “preference falsifiction” in regards to gun ownership.  I think it highlights the importance of making sure people know you’re a gun owner.  I don’t think you must, or even should, wear it on your sleeve, but hiding and pretending we’re doing something wrong because some people don’t approve of it will kill our rights in the long run.  If people know other normal people who are gun owners, they will be less likely themselves to support taking them away from whatever people they might imagine engaging in the practice.  As long as people don’t know they know someone who shoots, hunts, or keeps a firearm for self-protection, that leaves a blank canvas on which the anti-gun groups and media can paint whatever they wish.

Sorry to see this coming from a professor at my alma mater:

Michael Nutter is a hero for standing up to these bullies. We fully support his actions and continue working to stanch the flow of handguns into Philadelphia. What possible argument can be made against limiting the purchase of a handgun to one per month? The NRA’s “slippery slope” is slippery indeed – with the blood of fallen Philadelphians.

Yeah, because criminals who don’t have any problem committing aggrevated assault and murder will obey a one-gun-per-month law.