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Two students back delegates' gun bills Date published: 3/4/2008
By CHELYEN DAVIS RICHMOND --Their bills are dead, but two delegates yesterday took a last shot at publicizing what they say is a major policy question--the barring of concealed weapons from college campuses.Dels. Bob Marshall and Todd Gilbert, Republicans from Manassas and Woodstock, respectively, both had legislation that would have allowed the carrying of concealed weapons on campuses by those who have permits. Marshall's bill focused on professors, while Gilbert's applied to anyone with a concealed carry permit. Both bills were left in committees without getting a hearing, something that angered Marshall and Gilbert. Marshall has also been prevented by other delegates from attaching his bill as an amendment to other bills. They held a press conference on the last day bills could be heard in committee to bring attention to the issue. Many public colleges in Virginia bar students and faculty from carrying guns on campus. Gilbert says the schools have no right to do so without the General Assembly's authority. He and Marshall believe that allowing students and faculty to carry guns could potentially stop future school shootings. Gilbert mentioned several school shootings in which someone else who had a gun used it to stop the shooter. "The only person who should ever feel safe in a gun-free zone is the deranged killer," Gilbert said. With the legislators were two students who are members of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group. One was University of Mary Washington student Logan Metesh. At 19, Metesh is too young to get a concealed carry permit. But, he said, he would feel safer on campus if he knew other students or faculty were armed. "People who don't attend that school can come on campus and carry concealed. Why can't I?" Metesh asked. "It's a common-sense piece of legislation, it needs to be done, it saves lives." Behind the legislation is the specter of last April's shootings at Virginia Tech. A panel that did an extensive review of the Tech shootings declared in its report that had other students been armed, it could have led to more chaos and possible accidental shootings. Gilbert dismissed that as "a gratuitous and frankly shameful exercise in political correctness." "That's purely based on emotion it's not based on logic or reason," he added. A student who was injured in the Tech shootings, Colin Goddard, and his father, Andrew, were at yesterday's press conference. Andrew Goddard said he opposes both delegates' bills, although he thought they should have gotten a committee hearing. Goddard thinks the state should focus its efforts on preventing access to guns, not arming teachers. "Once a deranged person gets in a situation with a gun in their hand, you've already lost," he said. Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362
once again the good guy is seen as bad because he wants to defend himself and others.
But also a constitutional right as well as a natural instinct that we all posess. Some folks believe that we have to abrogate our rights and make the government our proxy. Imagine that, "the government" taking care of us. They can't even drive to work on a snowy day. I apologize to the government workers who may be offended by that statement; you are obviously one of those who do drive to work on a snowy day....I mean I do know that the hybrids don't do well on moist roads.
This is no surprise at all. We've been teaching our young folks appeasment and surrender since pre-school. And we're finding out that will get you killed. I agree with freedomfirst. We dont need restriction on access to guns - we need to "arpaio" as in Joe Arpaio the thugs and criminals and get them off the streets. Self defense is a God-given right.
The committee declared itseld the sole authority in Virginia to decide who can and cannot defend themselves against armed killers. No hearing, nothing,
Colin Goddard is free to think and act as he likes, but I personally am offended by his statement that the State should focus on on"preventing access to guns". He forgets that the US Constitution gives us the right to own guns. He just wants criminals to have guns? Because the State CANNOT prevent criminals from doing anything, just look at our jails.
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