Campaign to take guns of campus

[SavageMOA]

I didn't know where this fit, so mods, feel free to move it as you see fit.

I'm a college student whose current job requires me to field all the mail coming in and out of my office. We recently received a letter from the Brady Campaign for their "crusade to take guns off campus." My school already has a "no gun" policy.

The letter was filled with typical Brady nonsense. And I quote:

"Suicide and mental health issues. College students are at elevated risk of suicide.... If a gun is used in a suicide attempt, more than 90% of the time it is fatal, compared to a 3% fatality rate for suicide attempts by drug overdose. This is why guns in the home increase risk of suicide fivefold."

-Guns don't increase the number of suicides. They just affect the METHOD of suicide. Perhaps the Brady campaign should focus on HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE AT RISK FOR SUICIDE. Taking away guns will simply make suicidal people find another method. Taking away guns would NOT positively affect the number of suicides.

Again, I quote.

"College gun owners have been proven to be dangerous. Harvard researches have shown gun owners to be highly irresponsible. They are more likely than the average student to:
-Engage in binge drinking
-Need an alcoholic drink first thing in the morning
-Use cocaine or crack
-Be arrested for a DUI
-Vandalize property, and
-Get in trouble with the police"

The above portion makes absolutely more sense. Gun ownership does nothing to affect a person's likelihood of doing any of the above offenses. I own several guns and have NEVER woken up first thing in the morning and thought, "Hmm. I better have 12 beers before I go see my dealer for some crack so I can be high while I smash car windows."

Ok that last part was an extreme example, but my point is clear.

I'd really like to hear some comments from some fellow THRoaders.

 

[HK G3]

Hrmm sounds to me like they mixed up "gun owner" with "Paris Hilton."

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

The Brady group makes up statistics and stereotypes as it sees fit. The average college student may be more likely to do one or two of the things on that list, but it has nothing to do with whether or not they own a gun, but then again my personal observation was only 15 thousand or so students for several years.

Funny how they fail to mention that given the events over the past several years, schools are where you are MOST likely to NEED a gun on your person.

The brady bunch doesn't care about helping people. They just want to take guns away. If they actually cared they'd be advocating for banning swimming pools, as they kill more children each year than gun related deaths.

 

[7.62X25mm]

"If the Brady Campaign doesn't stop posting these vicious lies about us gun owners, I'm going to get distraught and shoot myself!"

-- NOW, they're the cause!

 

[damien]

What exactly does Brady want? Almost all schools have a no guns on campus/dorms rule (except for maybe ROTC - at NIU ROTC could have guns in the safe at Williston Hall and transport them to and from FTXs), except for the ones that are in states that, as a matter of state law, take it out of the school's hands.

As far as I can tell, Brady doesn't have to convice any schools to implement this as they all have, except the ones who can't because of state law. It would be more useful for Brady to lobby the states as that is where the action is right now in trying to override the schools anyway.

 

[SavageMOA]

My university used to have a rifle team with ROTC. My uncle was actually on it when he went to school here. They fired .22 rifles and now my school has nothing of the such because it of campaigns like this.

Who knows? If we still had a rifle program, I might have gotten better scholarships. Because of the economy, I lost $14,000 in scholarships because of under-funding.

 

[withdrawn34]

I've gotten really tired of this lately. As a university student, quite frankly I am quite insulted at the comments made about college students.

We're not all losers and don't all party all day, have orgies all night, and snort lines of crack in between. We have uhh, you know... classes and grades to worry about.

Do kids do that stuff? Sure. But any kid who does that for long doesn't stay in college. They end up dropping out. It's a system that works well in that regard.

This especially irks me:

Need an alcoholic drink first thing in the morning

What? That's called alcoholism and is a serious issue. While too many college kids find it cool to binge drink, few of them are serious alcoholics. Most are people who drink one or two beers and that's all it takes for them ot nearly pass out. Plus, you'll find it grows out of kids pretty damn quickly.

Since CCL holders, at least in Florida, have to be 21 and NOT HAVE BEEN IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW (felony), then NONE of those arguments even come close to making sense. And if they've taken on that responsibility, they'll be fine with everything else.

Give me a break. Stop insulting me and telling me what I am - because I will tell you right now, I am none of those things. I'm at school to get a degree so I can get a job. Most of the other kids are there for that, too.

 

[SavageMOA]

Couldn't agree more, Paul. I'm here for one reason, to get a degree so I can get a job I'll enjoy. I actually don't know of ANY crack/cokeheads that are current college students. It's awful hard to study when you can only think about your next fix.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to study for a calculus exam.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

College gun owners have been proven to be dangerous

They didn't say legal owners.
Perhaps they only surveyed people with criminal records who carry concealed weapons at the university of Chicago. (or their poll consisted solely of Michael Moore )

 

[Cyborg]

Don't know about other states but it is a felony to have a firearm on any school property in Texas unless you are a LEO or a commissioned security officer posted to that school and are either on duty or just coming on or going off. I used to work at a school and I carried my rig in the trunk and put it on just before my shift and took it off as soon as I clocked out. When the alternative is an all expenses paid extended visit to one of the resort communities operated by Texas Dept. of Corrections, ya can't be too careful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cyborg
Burying your head in the sand only makes your a** a better target.

 

[biggiesmalls]

what a load of crap. as a responsible, gun-owning college student, who has many friends alike, i am deeply offended by this. we need money to fight all this. and good leaders who can articulate our cause and beliefs. i personally think the NRA isn't good enough... if every gun-owner in america really united for the cause i think we'd be unstoppable as a political force. but we really need the money and leadership, because we have to shed light to peoples' misconception one individual at a time. it's perhaps the biggest losing-battle that is worth the most for us to fight.

 

[ZombieHunter]

But...but...but...

Somewhere there has to be a libel/slander suit we can file as a class action lawsuit?

 

[HIcarry]

Seems that current research indicates no difference in rates of psychiatric disorders from college students versus collage-aged individuals not attending college. And, after adjusting for variables, no statistically significant difference in alcohol abuse. So, if there is no difference in rates of these problems, why should an otherwise law-abiding individual who otherwise meets the State's criteria for concealed carry be denied that right at a college?

Context: Although young adulthood is often characterized
by rapid intellectual and social development, collegeaged
individuals are also commonly exposed to circumstances
that place them at risk for psychiatric disorders.
Objectives: To assess the 12-month prevalence of psychiatric
disorders, sociodemographic correlates, and rates
of treatment among individuals attending college and their
non–college-attending peers in the United States.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Face-to-face interviews
were conducted in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic
Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions
(N=43 093). Analyses were done for the subsample of
college-aged individuals, defined as those aged 19 to 25
years who were both attending (n=2188) and not attending
(n=2904) college in the previous year.
Main Outcome Measures: Sociodemographic correlates
and prevalence of 12-month DSM-IV psychiatric
disorders, substance use, and treatment seeking among
college-attending individuals and their non–college attending
peers.
Results: Almost half of college-aged individuals had a
psychiatric disorder in the past year. The overall rate of
psychiatric disorders was not different between college attending
individuals and their non–college-attending
peers. The unadjusted risk of alcohol use disorders was
significantly greater for college students than for their
non–college-attending peers (odds ratio=1.25; 95% confidence
interval, 1.04-1.50), although not after adjusting
for background sociodemographic characteristics
(adjusted odds ratio=1.19; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-
1.44). College students were significantly less likely (unadjusted
and adjusted) to have a diagnosis of drug use
disorder or nicotine dependence or to have used tobacco
than their non–college-attending peers. Bipolar disorder
was less common in individuals attending college.
College students were significantly less likely to
receive past-year treatment for alcohol or drug use disorders
than their non–college-attending peers.
Conclusions: Psychiatric disorders, particularly alcohol
use disorders, are common in the college-aged population.
Although treatment rates varied across disorders,
overall fewer than 25% of individuals with a mental
disorder sought treatment in the year prior to the survey.
These findings underscore the importance of treatment
and prevention interventions among college-aged
individuals.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1429-1437

 

[Deanimator]

Hrmm sounds to me like they mixed up "gun owner" with "Amy Winehouse."

There, fixed that for you!

 

[Prince Yamato]

As a college student, one barely has the money to buy guns let alone cocaine. Stupid made-up stats. And if anything were to make me want to drink in the morning, it would be the thought of seeing another letter like this at my mail sorting job .

 

[Vicious-Peanut]

That list is infuriating. I am a college student/gun owner, and I don't drink, I don't do crack/cocaine or any other drugs. Worst trouble with the cops I've been in was a speeding ticket, and I've never egged/toilet papered a house much less vandalized anything.

They definitely hit the nail on the head!

 

[TxState101]

Nothing is quite so tasty as drinking a cold beer after brushing your teeth...wait, what was the problem?

The Brady Campaign wasting paper again? Sound the alarm, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[jws527]

As far as I can tell, Brady doesn't have to convice any schools to implement this as they all have, except the ones who can't because of state law. It would be more useful for Brady to lobby the states as that is where the action is right now in trying to override the schools anyway.

I may be reading too much into this, but I don't think the ultimate intent is to encourage the imposition of gun free zones or campus bans, since those are already far more the norm than the exception. It would seem to me, given the "statistics" and claims on suicide rates and behavior, that they're trying to coerce students to disarm entirely (i.e. not own or possess a gun, whether on campus or not).

Perhaps they'd like to see the schools themselves encourage or even force this, but I don't see how that would be possible given the myriad of legitimate legal challenges that would inevitably strike such action down. It's probably more of a grassroots effort intended to utilize peer pressure and coercion.

 

[withdrawn34]

It seems that in these discussions, antis suddenly seem to forget that at many major and even smaller universities, a very large percentage of the student population, including those under 21, live off campus in campus-unaffiliated housing that has rules no different than a regular apartment, and sure, some kids have firearms.

Is there a huge problem there? Not that I've heard of, other than the general stab/fight/rob violence that happens in the shady areas immediately outside most univerisities. But that doesn't mean it is a student perpetrating it, and regardless of who it is doing it, it reiterates that a student, especially living there, should be able to defend her apartment and self against a few drunk guys who decided to take a field trip and find a few young college girls, probably sitting at home and studying in an unlocked apartment (as they have roomates and as anyone who has lived with roomates knows, they don't always lock the front door).

Also, there's this mass hysteria that if firearms were legalized on campus, that everyone would be carrying around a rifle and convert their apartments into armories. What? As I said before, off-campus, the rules aren't any different as far as firearms are concerned (from a government perspective anyway, the lease may have some BS restrictions, but I have no experience so I can't speak to it), and I really doubt many kids have firearms there.

Just because you legalize it, doesn't mean that everyone is going to have a firearm (even if that was a bad thing). It's likely the population would change little as far as new gun owners. It's sort of like the fear that if you legalize marijuana, everyone will become a pot smoker, etc. This belief extends to several other hot-topic issues as well.

 

[Crunker1337]

Do people not believe in the right to end one's life as one sees fit? If one wishes to end his life, no one has any business stopping them.

 

[HK G3]

My favorite excuse that the antis use to promote the preservation of campus Victim Disarmament Zones is that "having concealed weapons on campus would create a hostile learning environment, and hinder the educational process."

Because, ya know, a CONCEALED weapon will be such a huge distraction that it will just completely disrupt lecture.

 

[Zoogster]

The Brady's will twist anything to create false statistics that favor less gun ownership.

 

[ColinthePilot]

Again, I quote.

"College gun owners have been proven to be dangerous. Harvard researches have shown gun owners to be highly irresponsible. They are more likely than the average student to:
-Engage in binge drinking
-Need an alcoholic drink first thing in the morning
-Use cocaine or crack
-Be arrested for a DUI
-Vandalize property, and
-Get in trouble with the police"

Well, lets see about this...
-Lots of college students binge drink. I did. I never did anything irresponsible with my guns, or anything at all with them if I had been drinking. I still keep drinking and shooting very separate.
-Having an alcoholic drink is many binge drinkers' hangover cure of choice. Not one I've ever tried(Last thing I ever wanted when hungover was another drink.) Could also be a sign of alcoholism
-I've never even thought about doing illicit drugs-FAIL
-Many dumb college kids get drunk and drive home. This is barely a separate statistic, and has little to do with gun ownership. There's no link between drunk drivers and violent shooters.
-vandalism. Another common(but still inexcusable) trait of drunk college kids. Again, no factual link to gun owners.
-Getting in trouble with the police is common if you're binge drinking(especially underage), using illicit drugs, driving drunk and/or vandalizing property

I'm not defending any of the actions listed above, but I'm walking proof that a person can do a few of the things on that list and still be a responsible gun owner. I've stopped such childish behavior, but I'm no more a responsible gun owner now than I was then. My college antics were always far from my guns.

 

[jaholder1971]

1. The Brady campaign will sat and do anything to make every gunowner look like an imbecile.

2. I suspect that had this "study" they allude to was in any way accurate, the press would be all over it like brown stink on feces.

 

[Kind of Blued]

The Brady Campaign is like the little brother that will tug on your coattail for five minutes saying, "Hey guess what? Hey guess what? Hey guess what?"

Then when you say "What?" they tell you some lie their friend's brother told them about the origin of the ongoing battle between some characters on a cartoon show.

Why are we still paying attention to them?