http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/16524
Gun-totting students balk at campus firearms ban
First-ever national conference of students for firearms takes place in Washington
By Freddie Mooche
(AXcess News) Washington - Ever since the tragedy that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech, colleges and universities nationwide are trying to create 'gun free' zones on campus. But some gun-toting students say if they're disarmed, only the shooters will be.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), which has grown to a 30,000-strong group of members made up largely of students and some faculty members, recently met in Washington for the non-partisan group's first-ever national Conference, though attendance was limited. But then, what college student ever had enough coin in their jeans to travel cross-country and attend a conference - especially on a topic as sensitive as 'gun control'.
The group over time has been gaining the endorsement of state-level 'right to bare arms' groups, having gained the support of the Kansas State Rifle Association in June.
The SCCC, which met here at the National Press Club, says it has two main objectives. The first objective is to educate the public about the facts of concealed carry and dispel the many myths about concealed carry. The second objective is to persuade state legislatures and school administrations to grant concealed handgun license holders the same right-the right to carry concealed handguns-on college campuses that these license holders currently enjoy at most other places.
The group says they're taking their fight not to Capitol Hill but on the state level, where the SCCC hopes to see "colleges" removed from the lists of places listed as "off limits" by the concealed carry laws in many states.
Holding the Convention in Washington seemed appropriate, considering the wave of anti-gun sentiment sweeping through the greater DC area. Where else could a group of gun rights advocates find a better place to meet. It was sort of a two-punch benefit, explained one student from Philadelphia, who preferred to remain anonymous.
"If I can't defend myself, especially on campus, what am I supposed to do?", the student proclaimed. She felt that though she had a legal permit to carry a concealed firearm the schools shouldn't say it doesn't apply on campus. Opening her purse, she revealed a small 25 caliber handgun, which while slight in firepower is good enough to stop some attacker, she proclaimed before tucking it neatly away behind her cosmetics.
Her father bought the handgun for her to take to school after the shootings at Virginia Tech, but now she has to leave it in her off campus apartment when attending class, a move both her and her father are uncomfortable about.
Americans have always had the right to bare arms; its written into the Constitution. That argument is the only thing that's kept owning firearms legal. The police would prefer that no one had guns, but pro-gun supporters say only criminals would have them while everyone else sat defenseless.
The United States is one of the few Countries in the world were its citizens have the right to own firearms. Many foreigners see America as a gun-totting populous, which was fed by Hollywood's throng of westerns and bygone days of 40s era gangster flicks.
Still, anti-gun groups say there's room for compromise by removing not so much the personal defense weapons, like small caliber handguns or those shotguns and rifles hunting enthusiasts prescribe to, but larger miltary-like semi-automatic rifles, such as the famed AK-47s used several years ago during the shootout with police between two professional bank robbers and LA cops, who were literally out-gunned by the bandits.
Just days before the SCCC Conference in Washington, lawmakers introduced a bill aimed at overturning an emergency law in DC that prevented citizens from possessing firearms, despite the fact that the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.
The Second Amendment Enforcement Act (H.R. 6691), which is backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), would repeal the District's ban on semi-automatic handguns as well as the requirement that firearms be disassembled or secured with a trigger lock in the home.
On June 26, the U. S. Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that "the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense."
The NRA, which supports legal battles nationwide in defense of the 2nd amendment, has been a strong advocate in the DC court battle as well as becoming are a more outspoken group on the political scene. The NRA believes the SCCC should continue to promote the 2nd amendment but stopped short on commenting over campus issues.
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