Students
for Concealed Carry on Campus Announces National Collegiate Empty
Holster Protest
Released
on: October 5, 2007, 10:37 am
Press
Release Author: Students
for Concealed Carry on Campus
Industry:
Defense
Press
Release Summary: During the week of October 22-26, 2007, college
students throughout America, organized under the banner of Students
for Concealed Carry on Campus, will attend classes wearing empty
holsters, in protest of state laws and campus policies that stack
the odds in favor of armed killers by disarming law abiding citizens
licensed to carry concealed handguns virtually everywhere else.
Press
Release Body: During the week of October 22-26, 2007,
college students throughout America, organized under the banner
of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, will
attend classes wearing empty holsters, in protest of state laws
and campus policies that stack the odds in favor of armed killers
by disarming law abiding citizens licensed to carry concealed handguns
virtually everywhere else.
In
39 U.S. states, thousands of collegiate students and faculty—age
21 and above—are licensed to carry concealed handguns throughout
their day-to-day lives. And they do so without incident. However,
despite the absence of any compelling evidence that these licensed
individuals would pose any more threat to college campuses than
they currently do to office buildings, shopping malls, movie theaters,
grocery stores, banks, etc., they are prohibited, either by state
law or school policy, from carrying their firearms onto most college
campuses.
On
April 16, 2007, twenty-seven students and five
faculty members at Virginia Tech lost their lives
to a madman who possessed one distinct advantage over his victims—He
wasn’t concerned with following the rules. Undeterred by
Virginia Tech’s status as a “gun free
zone,” this mentally unstable individual carried
two handguns onto the university campus and indiscriminately opened
fire.
In
the last twenty years, the vast majority of the mass shootings in
America—from the Texas Luby’s massacre
to the Columbine High School massacre—have
happened in “gun free zones.” Labeling
an area “gun free” may make some people
feel safer, but as the shootings at Virginia Tech
taught us, feeling safe and being safe are not the same thing.
For
over a year, state law in Utah has allowed licensed individuals
to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. This has yet to
result in a single act of violence. Numerous studies* by independent
researchers and state agencies show that license holders are five
times less likely than non-license holders to be arrested for violent
crimes. Clearly, license holders pose little threat to college campuses.
There
is a wide discrepancy between the intent of campus gun bans and
the actual consequences of such bans. It is this discrepancy to
which the students of SCCC hope their Empty Holster Protest will
draw attention. While opponents may argue that guns have no place
in institutions of higher learning, SCCC contends that it is the
threat of uncontested, execution-style massacre that has no place
in America’s colleges. The students of the Empty Holster
Protest respectfully ask that steps be taken to take the
advantage away from those who seek to harm the innocent.
For
more information, contact W. Scott Lewis or visit www.ConcealedCampus.com.
*“Crime,
Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” John Lott
and David Mustard, Journal of Legal Studies (v.26, no.1, pages 1-68,
January 1997); “An Analysis of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed
Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire
Texas Population,” William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000;
Florida Department of Justice statistics, 1998; Florida Department
of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical
Report,” 1998; Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S.
Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-News, September,
2000; Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled
by the Texas State Rifle Association, www.tsra.com/arrests.htm
ABOUT
STUDENTS FOR CONCEALED CARRY ON CAMPUS - Students
for Concealed Carry on Campus is a national, non-partisan,
grassroots organization comprised of college students, parents,
and concerned citizens who believe that holders of concealed handgun
licenses should enjoy the same rights on college campuses that current
laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCCC
is dedicated to persuading state governments and school administrators
to approve laws and campus policies that will grant all citizens
with concealed handgun licenses the right to carry their concealed
handguns on college campuses. We are not affiliated with the NRA,
a political party, or any other organization.
Web
Site: http://www.ConcealedCampus.com
Contact
Details: W. Scott Lewis – Media Coordinator
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
media@concealedcampus.org
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