Imbalance in gun-free campus article

To the editor:

In response to Brenna Kelly’s article “Students, faculty respond to campus gun laws,” printed on Tuesday:

Thank you for contributing to the discussion about gun rights on our campus. I am concerned that very little representation was given for students who support the law and the right to carry a weapon. Your article gave plenty of room for opinions from people who support making our campus gun-free. I will give you the benefit of the doubt as it may have been an unintentional imbalance. After all, you did take time to mention President Albrecht’s and Tim Vitale’s support of the law.

As a student, I would like to contribute my voice on the matter. In your article, you paraphrased professor Jennifer Sinor’s position that “removing firearms from campus is not only legislatively achievable, but necessary for student safety.” I strongly disagree and would like to speak to the concerns of those who support this petition.

The right to protect your life is something we should not give up so easily. I support concealed carry simply because I want to go home to my wife and kids every night. It’s the same reason we have a savings account, extra food in the pantry, a spare tire in the car and a flashlight in the bedroom. Being prepared is not crazy. Being prepared is a sign of wisdom and experience.

Students who choose to carry generally don’t speak up because it’s not in their nature. That’s the point of concealment. They are not vigilantes or wannabe heroes. They don’t want to cause panic. How could anyone equate our responsible students with the monster who threatened Anita Sarkeesian last week? A person like that does not bother with the training and background checks associated with a permit. A person like that will not pause for signs and laws to pursue their evil objectives. Are we kidding ourselves?

The petition described in Tuesday’s article expressed fear that students would use threats or actual violence to dictate what faculty say and do. Concealed carry has been the law for many years now, and we have yet to see threatening behavior materialize from actual permit-holding students. It is an argument based on fear, not facts. In terms of our freedom of speech, carrying a gun means that one cannot be coerced into silence by a threat of force. It means that only logic, reason, persuasion and mutual respect can gain the compliance of the individual. Firearms ownership strengthens the freedom of expression, rather than diminishes it. The relationship between the presence of guns and the freedom of speech is clear. When held in the right hands, guns help insure that freedom.

Let our students make their own choices. We can’t stop evil with laws, but we can protect ourselves when laws fail. Instead of fighting to pretend guns don’t exist, let us work to build a culture of education and respect towards firearms. Anyone who has an interest in or an anxiety toward guns is welcome to contact me at dallinbgrow@gmail.com. I will be happy to take the time to provide safe and respectful training on the basic handling of a firearm free of charge. There are also many professional instructors, police officers, veterans and good citizens in our community who can provide excellent training to overcome an irrational fear of guns. Knowledge, not fear, is where the answers lie.

Sincerely,

— Dallin B. Grow