Ed no one is forcing you to carry but you have not right to know other peoples business. Why would one be afraid of people who carry after getting a license? You should be worried about people who ignore the law; they are not going to go away.

I am not against the 2A. I just dislike gun enthusiasts tells me I’m not a good citizen because I refuse to carry a gun. The right to carry should also be the right to not carry and to not have to assemble with those who do.

Stephen - Not everyone who is pro gun is conservative and not everyone who is anti gun is liberal. Ed Myers is really conservative in most ways except guns. I am socially liberal but really pro gun. I know people who are academics and the kind of classic liberal you are talking about who have CCW licenses and carry everywhere they can. 

Lets not give into dated and useless stereotypes.

Not sure I understand this. Liberals are traditionally anti-gun. The most liberal place on earth, campuses, and the most liberal profession and now you want to give them guns? God… Is anyone going to teach them which end of the gun to point at the target or to not pee their pants when faced with a confrontation where they might have to actually use their weapon?

Dollarbillphil - What about the silly knee jerk reaction of schools forbidding people with proper licenses from concealed carry? There is no reason to do so as CCW holders are law abiding and responsible and on the flip side criminals are carrying anyway.

Ed your violence between people that know each other is true, and 66.7% of the time they are criminals engaged in gang or drug related activity and the vast majority have illegal arms and are convicted felons. The majority of the rest of the time murder is domestic in nature. This has nothing to do with the millions of CCW holders in the USA.

Both of you are nothing more than doom and gloom types that always predict blood in the streets which never come about in real life. Fact is gun laws have been loosening since 1994 and the homicide rate has cut in half and the crime rate is down 75%.

Lets stick to reality instead of what if fantasies because you guys sound as silly as kids talking about the impending zombie apocalypses.

Hey $hit for Brains, oh I mean Sterling, it is not about me, its about policy and understanding that silly knee jerk actions like arming professors and giving everyone guns is not going to change squat.  In Tex-ass they have some of the looses gun laws in the Country and crime is still high in Tex-ass.  However, most of the murders are committed by people who know each other and are classified as crimes of passions.  Ina gun fight, again its the person who pulls first generally win.  Plus untrained people with guns (and going to a gun safety course is not real training) is dangerous.  the military with all their trianing have numerous friendly fire incidents, not you have a whole class room full of kids and the nerd professor all shoting at oe time.  The problem with gunnecks is that they think its all one shot one kill.  NOT, once it leave the gun, the bullet doe snot play favorites, it hits where its aimed whether that aim is good or bad.  No guns, no gun deaths

If a law abiding citizen needs a guns they will have no reason not to wear it openly. Those who hide a gun do so because they have criminal intent.  If someone is wearing a gun I can conclude that they fear something and will steer clear of them. Virtually all violence is between people who know each other. Occassionally innocent bystanders get caught in violence between acquaintences. Rarely is there purely random violence. Thus if someone needs to carry a gun it is because of their own demons or the violent demons of their friends. That is someone I need to avoid. Likewise if a school needs to have gun-toting teachers, that’s a school that I will avoid. Make all people who want to carry guns do so openly so the rest of us aren’t forced to associate with people who have a violent lifestyle.

Freedom is not assuming common citizens are up to no good because of your personal issues.

Freedom is having people disclose that they have a gun. That way we can avoid situations where guns reduce safety. Those who are so insecure they need a gun can carry one. The rest of us can make our lives safer by avoiding those people who cause so much trouble that they need to carry a gun. Open carry only or leave your gun at home.

Hey Dollar Bill Phil, I’m in awe of you, you sound like a master martial artist, afraid of no man nor bullet, who knows every aspect of hand to hand, excuse me, close combat, and gun fighting. What an imposing figure you must be. A hardened verteran of the streets no doubt in my mind.I’ll bet you have been in many “engagements” where you are locked into a heated and sweaty struggle with your “adversary”. Yuk!

If you want to debate the numbers I have them and I am willing but the numbers always side with freedom for the people over useless regulations that don’t do a darn thing.

For instance how did making VA Tech a gun free zone save lives? It didn’t 32 unarmed people were slaughtered by a guy who just ignored the signs, all those complying were put in danger.

On the flip side the states seeing the fastest pace in reduction of crime are those with concealed carry licenses.

@FedUpDude, I concede. Nobody but you understands. I know nothing, but I have you, @FedUpDude, sage of the ages, intellect of all intellects, to set everyone straight. Thank you.

cmckeonjr - So a kid shooting a cop in an ambush is somehow comparable to a nut killing 32 people over an hour because no one was armed and able to fight back? Who is the one making a false comparison here?

What about the appalachian school shooting? Stopped by armed students. 1/10th the body count of VA Tech where there were no armed students.

Oh well keep on believing what you want the debate is over all these gun measures will pass with the current make up of the state government.

We will all be a bit safer once they are passed.

@FedUpDude. You monger fear, citing rare instances of nuts on a rampage. I know I live in a country full of gun nuts, I wasn’t born yesterday. You have heard of the late Officer Crouse and Ross Truett Ashley, haven’t you? I worried about guns once in my life, on an overnight stay–my first and last–of a gun nut who, with several beers working on his brain, decided to bring out his semi-automatic pistol to show everyone.

@cmckeonjr - No one at VA Tech during the Cho shooting was armed.

As to areas where everyone is armed you know Virginia is one of the most armed states and that gun ownership is highest among rural, then suburban, then urban dwellers right? Also the majority of gun owners have a form of higher education.

You need to stop fear mongering and learn the facts because I got news for you statistically speaking about 40-50% of your neighbors have a fire arm in the house no matter where you live. I know the majority of my neighbors own firearms we have even gone shooting together and I am in the Broadlands in a neighborhood with large homes.

I think “Ed Myers” must sequester himself in a basement 24/7 where he can’t be harmed by all the reckless, blood thirsty heathens running around outside with guns.  I went to the office today Ed, I guess I am lucky to be alive.  Someone’s gun could have gone off as I walked to the parking garage.  I better put my vest on before I go get the mail, there might be a gun owner in the neighborhood.

More garbage from “Phil” as well.  Always something new about how gun owners don’t have what it takes.  I guess Phil is disarming gun toting criminals with his bare hands like Steven Seagal in a bad action flick.  I guess we should all put our guns down, curl up in the fetal position, and hope the bad guys don’t find us.  No sense in even trying to protect yourself or others, right Phil?

Maybe Ed and Phil can hang out in Ed’s basement and talk about how they are lucky a CCW holding maniac didn’t get them today.  Or strategies for hiding in the closet when you hear someone in your house at night.

@FedUpDude, I know you think just about everybody but you understands nothing, but I think the latest victim of a shooting at VA Tech had a weapon but died anyway. People avoid neighborhoods where every guy has a gun, with good reason, and the people who live in those neighborhoods would rather not.

Boring…..If you you dont have the interest in carry, dont carry. The state says you have to show “demonstrated competence with a firearm” to have a CCW. So if you have a ccw, you meet the states requirements. Mountain out of a mole hill. Next news story.

@cmckeonjr - Yeah that worked out well at VA tech right? How about that Norway massacre; took the police over 20 minutes to get to the island.

@Ed - On suicide, there are a number of studies that prove you wrong. First the Japanese have almost no guns and the #1 suicide rate in the 1st world. Second in the last 15 years the UK and Alstralia both have banned handguns and made strict rules for owning a rifle or shotgun and yes suicide by gun went down but not suicide over all; they just used other methods more, pills, jumping in front of trains or traffic, jumping off high spaces, cutting arteries, ect. Guns have no affect on suicides one way or the other.

Also to the idea that a school is dangerous you clearly don’t get the fact that these attacks are unpredictable except for one factor, they chose places where people gather in large numbers and are forced to be unarmed like schools and malls. Even the Fort Evens shooter took into account that military personal are not allowed to be armed on base.

If my child’s roommate has a gun, That’s enough to demand a different dorm. I don’t want a drunk student accidentally firing off a few shots.

If a school is so dangerous that professors need to pack heat, then I don’t want my kids going there to school.

facts. more kids don’t die from gun suicide than armed assailants. key word gun suicide. do your research. seeing a person with a gun and you can do something. such as what? run, call the police….. i prefer to err on the side if he is shooting someone, like gabby gifford, then to shoot him back. it is legal to carry a weapon openly but why assume someone carrying a gun is a criminal. after my life experiences, especially in wash dc, i fear many, many police officers who carry guns everyday plus bad people. gunnecks…. whoever coined this is an idiot. if someone did have a gun, other than the killer, many people would not have died. several teachers died regardless, so what would it matter anyway?! the police react and are in no civil respect responsible to protect you. tell a police officer you witnessed something and he is likely to tell you to call 911 due to liability issues and not being able to respond without being advised by dispatch or senior officer. personally, i don’t suggest that all professors carry guns, but the fact is many, and i mean many, people carry guns legally and illegally without concern for the law. i don’t think most people who carry are thinking “i wonder if another Tech will occur today and i will be the hero”. most are like me who think “i just want to arrive home safely on a daily basis to my wife and children”. i work in some very rough areas of dc and have seen kids, and i mean kids, shoot people, steal cars, rob supermarkets, etc. i was approached twice in similar situations and fortunately was not on the receiving end of things. i have watched a couple of recent movies where thugs broke into homes and all the residents could do is cower since they had no means of protecting themselves. to each their own. if you don’t like guns, shut up and let the legislation and citizens do what they want. if you prefer not to protect yourself it is your right. guns are like taxes, your inlaws and our broken gov’t and will never go away.

Suicide attempts are more likely to succeed if a gun is available.  More kids die from suicide than by an armed assailant.

If everyone has a gun it is difficult to tell the law abiding from the criminals. If it is illegal to have a gun, then when we see a gun we know the person is up to no good and can immediately do something instead of waiting for them to use the gun.

Gunnecks at it again, arm the professors, next it will be the kindegarden teachers.  What ignorant gunnecks don’t understand because most of them have never been in a real fist fight let alone a gun fight, it does not matter who has a gun in the fight, its the first person to draw and the person who stays calm and is committed to use it.  Unfortunately, being armed did not help the policeman at Virginia Tech. So the next time a nut wants to shoot up a class, he will walk up shot the teacher first and then everyone else.  Can’t shoot anyone if you don’t have a gun gunnecks.

Professors teach. Law enforcement officers enforce the law. Reduce access to guns.

More hyperbole, CCW holders are not murdering people.

Make sure that apple the students bring in does not have a worm, and lead may be flying.

@Madscientist - Problem with your assessment is it goes against the evidence we have from mass shootings. In every mass shooting we have has since Columbine the attackers either kill themselves or surrender (most kill themselves) at the first sign of armed resistance. Cho was no exception he offed himself as the cops closed in. If someone had only fired back sooner lives could have been saved.

The right thing to consider here is how this changes the environment… The shootings we know of were premeditated, so what would change if the attacker knew they would be facing armed teachers and potentially students? Would they be deterred (probably not) or would they scale up and adjust their plans (most likely)?

Probably not deterred because the folks who have done this in the past knew they weren’t going to walk away from it.

Probably scale up because the attacker has an agenda—something to prove, so they’re thinking about how to reach their goal. Knowing there are teachers with guns changes their tactics but not their goal.

IMO, if you’re going to allow concealed weapons on campus, allow them for everyone (staff or student) who is registered and require they pass a course on how to use them (on campus) before letting them do it.

The extra course does a couple of things:

1 - we know the folks doing this have the basics down and;

2 - we recognize the campus as being a unique situation and we have trained them for that as well.

OMG, there will be blood in the streets. It will be like the wild west. What will we do, think of the children. Just thought I would say it before some liberal. Dollar Bill Phil will be checking in , in 3, 2, .........

Guns kill people. Guns kill people. Guns kill people. Guns kill people. Guns kill people. Guns kill people. Guns kill people.

Barry Sotero forever!

@Ed - Likely they are pushing this bill first because it is easier to start small than trying to get everyone with a CCW at one time.

So why not let students carry?

@interested…
You’re absolutely right.

The “blood in the streets/Wild West” crowd will never rest though.

Every school shooting occurred where citizens were restricted from carrying weapons. In every case, criminals ignored the restriction. And in every case, citizens were left defenseless.

But dither away. I’m sure that imposing the same stupid restrictions will result in a different result eventually.