Campus carry advocacy: New Mexico edition

Another op-ed for allowing self-defense tools on college campuses, this one from a female staff member at UNM:

On the news this morning, I heard another woman was attacked on the UNM campus. This time the attacker was a homeless man, most likely drunk.

A shiver went down my spine, because I was approached by three large, seemingly homeless men on Thursday. One said in an aggressive manner, "Hey, how 'bout a little bed and breakfast?" as he lurched toward me. I swerved around them and hurried to my building. With the loud construction nearby, I don't think anyone noticed and certainly couldn't have heard.

This sort of situation is typical for a lot of women at UNM, local bars or anywhere on Central Avenue. I believe it's time to be allowed to even the playing field. I want a fighting chance when three drunk, 250-pound men approach me shouting lewd comments. Everywhere else in the city, I am allowed to conceal and carry my Kel-Tec .380, but when I come to work, I have to leave it in my night stand and hope I can run fast. I only weigh 125 pounds, and against any normal-sized man, I don't stand a chance.

Article here. As a general rule, when folks acquire concealed carry permit and begin to actually carry, they become much more aware of the silliness of legally mandated "gun free" zones. Such folks begin to realize and appreciate the impotence of such laws to prevent anyone, including those intent on committing criminal violence, from being armed in those "gun free" zones. Over the past few years, as CCW laws have proliferated and the ranks of permit holders have grown, my sense is that we've begun to see a slow shift towards the common sense realization that "gun free zones" are really "violent criminal empowerment zones".