Post by Woody Williams on Apr 17, 2007 17:22:02 GMT -5
The Outdoor Wire for Tuesday, April 17
Tipping Point Arrives Unexpectedly
EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's feature deals with yesterday's tragedy at Virginia Tech from the perspective of a pair of firearms observers. First, Tom Gresham of Gun Talk, looks at the inevitable backlash against firearms. Jim Shepherd observed the media and public response to the story. We believe you will find both viewpoints thought-provoking, but both Gresham and Shepherd wanted everyone to remember that right now, this is a story about people, not ideological viewpoints. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by this tragedy.
Another "Gun Free" Zone Failure in Virginia
Here Come The Gun Banners
By Tom Gresham
April 16, 2007, just might be a turning point in the battle to restore gun rights to Americans. The tragedy at Virginia Tech today, with more than 30 people being killed in a premeditated murder spree, will be the fulcrum upon which the anti-gun rights forces leverage their efforts to restrict (destroy, if possible) your right to not only own guns, but to protect yourself and your family.
Quite simply, this is the mass shooting the anti-self defense forces have been waiting for, as we will see over the coming days and weeks. The papers are already drawn up; the proposed restrictions were penned long ago; they have merely been waiting for this moment.
Lost in the coming cacophony will be the utter failure of the "perfect" gun law -- a total gun ban. You see, on that university campus, no one is allowed to have a gun for self -protection in dorms or classrooms. It is the latest in a long string of murderous failures of "gun free" zones, or as they are better called, "victim-rich environments."
According to the school's "Campus and Workplace Violence Prevention Policy":
"The university's employees, students, and volunteers, or any visitor or other third party attending a sporting, entertainment, or educational event, or visiting an academic or administrative office building or residence hall, are further prohibited from carrying, maintaining, or storing a firearm or weapon on any university facility, even if the owner has a valid permit, when it is not required by the individual's job, or in accordance with the relevant University Student Life Policies.
Any such individual who is reported or discovered to possess a firearm or weapon on university property will be asked to remove it immediately. Failure to comply may result in a student judicial referral and/or arrest, or an employee disciplinary action and/or arrest."
(Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Policy 5616, Campus and Workplace Violence Prevention Policy, www.policies.vt.edu/5616.pdf)
A similar situation to the one that happened at Virginia Tech occurred on January 16th, 2002 at Appalachian Law School in Grundy, Virginia. A disgruntled former student began a similar shooting spree. The difference in this case was that the attack was stopped by three individuals, two of whom were legally armed with handguns. Unfortunately, the attack was not stopped until three people had been killed and three more wounded. Why did it take so long to stop the attack? The good guys had to retrieve their guns from their parked cars before they could confront the gunman. ALS was a gun-free zone, you know.
Barely more than a year ago House Bill 1572 couldn't even make it out of committee in the Virginia General Assembly. The bill would have made it legal for students and staff at Virginia universities to have guns for their own protection. Today's shooter did not wait for such a law, and took advantage of the government-mandated victim-state.
When House Bill 1572 was defeated, state newspapers reported: "Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. 'I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.'"
Once again, the desire to "feel safe" prompts decisions which actually make people less safe.
What does it mean to America's gun owners? It certainly sounds the battle cry for those who enacted, then lost, the ability to ban full-capacity magazines for defensive firearms. Expect a quick call for limiting magazine capacity--and thus, the ability to fully protect yourself and your family. There may well be calls for the banning of all autoloading (semi-automatic) firearms, even though those have been in use for more than 100 years.
Fortunately, the political landscape is much different than it was when the Brady Bill and the Clinton Gun Ban were passed in the early 1990s. Those acts helped pull together a fragmented firearms industry which, until then, had kept out of politics, leaving that to the NRA. The firearms industry now understands the threat, as do individual gun owners who use guns for recreation, but especially for self-protection. Passage of the so-called "assault weapon" ban resulted in the Republican Party taking control of Congress, according to President Bill Clinton. The gun issue is largely credited with keeping a Republican in the White House since then. Elected officials of all stripes know that any proposal to infringe on gun rights is a third rail, capable of cutting short almost any political career.
Certainly, some closet gun banners will be emboldened by this tragedy and will come forward, counting on a groundswell of public outrage to carry the day for repressive gun control laws, much as it did in England and Australia after those countries experienced similar shootings. The disturbing fact that the violent crime rate skyrocketed in both countries following the confiscation of guns from honest people will not quell the zeal of those who dream of a country where the criminals are free to prey on the defenseless.
They long for the day when they can bring the failed experiment of "gun free" zones to every town, neighborhood, and home in America.
Until Monday, April 16, it was thought that gun control would be an issue politicians would try to duck over the next 18 months. That may have changed. What has not changed, though, is the awareness of the American public that they need firearms for personal protection. The vivid images of helpless people during Hurricane Katrina being victimized by thugs, with no police to help, crystallized the understanding that each of us is responsible for our own safety,. Today, we all know we can certainly take advantage of help from official sources, but we also are clear that we should never give up our ability to help ourselves.
Today's shootings are terrible. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We don't want to inject politics into this, but to ignore this is to pretend the sun doesn't rise each day. The assault on our rights surely will come.
Whether we gun owners get swept away by a tsunami of gun restrictions, or swim to the top with logic and organized persuasion depends, I think, on the intensity and the quality of our reaction. One thing is for sure. This is the fight that will determine the future of gun rights, the firearms industry, our ability to protect our families, and the strength of our Constitutional protections.
Tragedy Makes Our Disconnection From Reality Obvious
By Jim Shepherd
What happened yesterday at Virginia Tech was a tragedy of almost incomprehensible proportion. There is absolutely no way to rationalize the acts of a single individual determined to inflict as much harm as possible on as many people as possible, especially if that individual is not concerned about losing their own life in the process.
The attack on unsuspecting students is the worst carnage ever visited on American student. It is also another glaring demonstration of the fact that many "average Americans" - and most media members, have no concept of operating in real-time. Only hours after the murders, Tech students were popping up across the cable networks, expressing their displeasure at having not been notified sooner. Of course, they're located on a campus comprised of around 25,000 students and several hundred buildings, but the campus police and school officials are supposed to be able to make everyone instantly aware of everything - simultaneously.
Everyone seems to forget a college campus this size is the equivalent of a self-contained small city. A city with only 50 police officers.
Not that it will make any difference.
People are looking for someone to blame for all this, a scapegoat. Amazingly, the thought of blaming the shooter doesn't seem to enter into the equation. We'll hear it's the fault of the administration, the police and, eventually, the firearms, but we'll hear precious little credit for this heinous act laid at the foot of the disturbed person who pulled the trigger and reloaded those evil firearms.
That, unfortunately, seems to be the modus operandi today.
Yesterday afternoon, as Virginia Tech's police chief Wendell Flenchum fielded rapid-fire questions from reporters, it became apparent they weren't hunting for answers, they were hunting for a villain.
In the course of that conference, one reporter asked Flenchum "isn't this an unusual situation for a college police department to handle?" Flenchum, who is obviously more tactful than most, replied simply: "This is an unusual situation for any police department to handle."
As the story continues to unfold, it becomes painfully obvious this country has lost touch with reality - unless it's reality TV.
Life does not come in 22-minute bundles, neatly wrapped and ready-to-go.
In press conferences today, reporters who didn't get the answers they wanted simply tried to frame the question differently. They seemed befuddled at the fact that anyone would give simple, declarative answers to what were, in fact, ignorant questions.
Coming less than 24 hours after the close of the 136th Annual National Rifle Association meetings in St. Louis, this tragedy may suddenly become the focal point of the firearms question as we head into 2008.
There's a lot at stake in both sides of the firearms discussion.
If Second Amendment supporters wage a spirited fight - and keep firearms one of those voting issues that might not get you elected, but could certainly get you defeated, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our resolve to politicians.
Should the anti-firearms leaders of Congress not win - and win convincingly - their more liberal supporters will be screaming for the heads of the Democratic leadership.
We are all stunned and saddened at yesterday's tragedy. Now, we must move through the shock and begin preparing for the inevitable.
--Jim Shepherd
Tipping Point Arrives Unexpectedly
EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's feature deals with yesterday's tragedy at Virginia Tech from the perspective of a pair of firearms observers. First, Tom Gresham of Gun Talk, looks at the inevitable backlash against firearms. Jim Shepherd observed the media and public response to the story. We believe you will find both viewpoints thought-provoking, but both Gresham and Shepherd wanted everyone to remember that right now, this is a story about people, not ideological viewpoints. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by this tragedy.
Another "Gun Free" Zone Failure in Virginia
Here Come The Gun Banners
By Tom Gresham
April 16, 2007, just might be a turning point in the battle to restore gun rights to Americans. The tragedy at Virginia Tech today, with more than 30 people being killed in a premeditated murder spree, will be the fulcrum upon which the anti-gun rights forces leverage their efforts to restrict (destroy, if possible) your right to not only own guns, but to protect yourself and your family.
Quite simply, this is the mass shooting the anti-self defense forces have been waiting for, as we will see over the coming days and weeks. The papers are already drawn up; the proposed restrictions were penned long ago; they have merely been waiting for this moment.
Lost in the coming cacophony will be the utter failure of the "perfect" gun law -- a total gun ban. You see, on that university campus, no one is allowed to have a gun for self -protection in dorms or classrooms. It is the latest in a long string of murderous failures of "gun free" zones, or as they are better called, "victim-rich environments."
According to the school's "Campus and Workplace Violence Prevention Policy":
"The university's employees, students, and volunteers, or any visitor or other third party attending a sporting, entertainment, or educational event, or visiting an academic or administrative office building or residence hall, are further prohibited from carrying, maintaining, or storing a firearm or weapon on any university facility, even if the owner has a valid permit, when it is not required by the individual's job, or in accordance with the relevant University Student Life Policies.
Any such individual who is reported or discovered to possess a firearm or weapon on university property will be asked to remove it immediately. Failure to comply may result in a student judicial referral and/or arrest, or an employee disciplinary action and/or arrest."
(Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Policy 5616, Campus and Workplace Violence Prevention Policy, www.policies.vt.edu/5616.pdf)
A similar situation to the one that happened at Virginia Tech occurred on January 16th, 2002 at Appalachian Law School in Grundy, Virginia. A disgruntled former student began a similar shooting spree. The difference in this case was that the attack was stopped by three individuals, two of whom were legally armed with handguns. Unfortunately, the attack was not stopped until three people had been killed and three more wounded. Why did it take so long to stop the attack? The good guys had to retrieve their guns from their parked cars before they could confront the gunman. ALS was a gun-free zone, you know.
Barely more than a year ago House Bill 1572 couldn't even make it out of committee in the Virginia General Assembly. The bill would have made it legal for students and staff at Virginia universities to have guns for their own protection. Today's shooter did not wait for such a law, and took advantage of the government-mandated victim-state.
When House Bill 1572 was defeated, state newspapers reported: "Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. 'I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.'"
Once again, the desire to "feel safe" prompts decisions which actually make people less safe.
What does it mean to America's gun owners? It certainly sounds the battle cry for those who enacted, then lost, the ability to ban full-capacity magazines for defensive firearms. Expect a quick call for limiting magazine capacity--and thus, the ability to fully protect yourself and your family. There may well be calls for the banning of all autoloading (semi-automatic) firearms, even though those have been in use for more than 100 years.
Fortunately, the political landscape is much different than it was when the Brady Bill and the Clinton Gun Ban were passed in the early 1990s. Those acts helped pull together a fragmented firearms industry which, until then, had kept out of politics, leaving that to the NRA. The firearms industry now understands the threat, as do individual gun owners who use guns for recreation, but especially for self-protection. Passage of the so-called "assault weapon" ban resulted in the Republican Party taking control of Congress, according to President Bill Clinton. The gun issue is largely credited with keeping a Republican in the White House since then. Elected officials of all stripes know that any proposal to infringe on gun rights is a third rail, capable of cutting short almost any political career.
Certainly, some closet gun banners will be emboldened by this tragedy and will come forward, counting on a groundswell of public outrage to carry the day for repressive gun control laws, much as it did in England and Australia after those countries experienced similar shootings. The disturbing fact that the violent crime rate skyrocketed in both countries following the confiscation of guns from honest people will not quell the zeal of those who dream of a country where the criminals are free to prey on the defenseless.
They long for the day when they can bring the failed experiment of "gun free" zones to every town, neighborhood, and home in America.
Until Monday, April 16, it was thought that gun control would be an issue politicians would try to duck over the next 18 months. That may have changed. What has not changed, though, is the awareness of the American public that they need firearms for personal protection. The vivid images of helpless people during Hurricane Katrina being victimized by thugs, with no police to help, crystallized the understanding that each of us is responsible for our own safety,. Today, we all know we can certainly take advantage of help from official sources, but we also are clear that we should never give up our ability to help ourselves.
Today's shootings are terrible. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We don't want to inject politics into this, but to ignore this is to pretend the sun doesn't rise each day. The assault on our rights surely will come.
Whether we gun owners get swept away by a tsunami of gun restrictions, or swim to the top with logic and organized persuasion depends, I think, on the intensity and the quality of our reaction. One thing is for sure. This is the fight that will determine the future of gun rights, the firearms industry, our ability to protect our families, and the strength of our Constitutional protections.
Tragedy Makes Our Disconnection From Reality Obvious
By Jim Shepherd
What happened yesterday at Virginia Tech was a tragedy of almost incomprehensible proportion. There is absolutely no way to rationalize the acts of a single individual determined to inflict as much harm as possible on as many people as possible, especially if that individual is not concerned about losing their own life in the process.
The attack on unsuspecting students is the worst carnage ever visited on American student. It is also another glaring demonstration of the fact that many "average Americans" - and most media members, have no concept of operating in real-time. Only hours after the murders, Tech students were popping up across the cable networks, expressing their displeasure at having not been notified sooner. Of course, they're located on a campus comprised of around 25,000 students and several hundred buildings, but the campus police and school officials are supposed to be able to make everyone instantly aware of everything - simultaneously.
Everyone seems to forget a college campus this size is the equivalent of a self-contained small city. A city with only 50 police officers.
Not that it will make any difference.
People are looking for someone to blame for all this, a scapegoat. Amazingly, the thought of blaming the shooter doesn't seem to enter into the equation. We'll hear it's the fault of the administration, the police and, eventually, the firearms, but we'll hear precious little credit for this heinous act laid at the foot of the disturbed person who pulled the trigger and reloaded those evil firearms.
That, unfortunately, seems to be the modus operandi today.
Yesterday afternoon, as Virginia Tech's police chief Wendell Flenchum fielded rapid-fire questions from reporters, it became apparent they weren't hunting for answers, they were hunting for a villain.
In the course of that conference, one reporter asked Flenchum "isn't this an unusual situation for a college police department to handle?" Flenchum, who is obviously more tactful than most, replied simply: "This is an unusual situation for any police department to handle."
As the story continues to unfold, it becomes painfully obvious this country has lost touch with reality - unless it's reality TV.
Life does not come in 22-minute bundles, neatly wrapped and ready-to-go.
In press conferences today, reporters who didn't get the answers they wanted simply tried to frame the question differently. They seemed befuddled at the fact that anyone would give simple, declarative answers to what were, in fact, ignorant questions.
Coming less than 24 hours after the close of the 136th Annual National Rifle Association meetings in St. Louis, this tragedy may suddenly become the focal point of the firearms question as we head into 2008.
There's a lot at stake in both sides of the firearms discussion.
If Second Amendment supporters wage a spirited fight - and keep firearms one of those voting issues that might not get you elected, but could certainly get you defeated, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our resolve to politicians.
Should the anti-firearms leaders of Congress not win - and win convincingly - their more liberal supporters will be screaming for the heads of the Democratic leadership.
We are all stunned and saddened at yesterday's tragedy. Now, we must move through the shock and begin preparing for the inevitable.
--Jim Shepherd
