LETTER: Permit holders are law abiders

Editor,

I am concerned about the recent article that was written a few weeks ago. The article was concerning the issue of whether guns should be allowed on campus. I know this issue is, of course, very heated and I can understand both arguments, however, I think that people are very uneducated on the subject. The article failed to mention that this issue only deals with those who have a concealed weapons permit, thus greatly affecting the debate. He also failed to mention that concealed weapons permit holders are proven to be more law-abiding citizens than police officers, judges, teachers and any other group of people. You can have a very shady past and become a police officer, but you can’t get a concealed weapons permit. Most people don’t know that to obtain a permit a person must have absolutely no criminal record, and because background checks are run every day on the permit holders, they are taken care of very quickly after any offense, even a class C misdemeanor (e.g. walking in a condemned building.)

Banning concealed weapon permit holders is taking the weapons out of those who are the most trustworthy, law-abiding, and respected. It was disappointing to read that the Columbine tragedy was used to prove his point. Those boys didn’t care what laws were being broken, they had a mission and they accomplished it. I can’t say what would have happened had there been someone who was a responsible gun carrier in that building, or if anything would have changed, but those boys surely didn’t have a permit, nor did they care. These gun control laws generally only hurt the innocent and create a safe zone for the guilty. I respect your opinion, but please don’t think that someone who has proven themselves to be responsible is going to get so excited about issues like sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll that they will create a tragedy. Rather, let them be there to prevent one.

Andrew Davis