Gun Rights News Roundup

Articles, news stories, and op-eds of interest to gun owners:

[Virginia] The ironically named Liberty University to remain Second Amendment free:

LYNCHBURG, Va. (ABP) -- Liberty University will remain gun-free, trustees at the Baptist school founded by the late Jerry Falwell decided March 3.

Last year, Liberty's chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus asked university officials to change the school's firearm policies to allow people with concealed-handgun permits to carry weapons on campus.

"Liberty University prides itself in not adhering to 'political correctness' and is obligated to consider the facts instead of simply adhering to politically popular policies," the group appealed in an online petition.

The petition said current rules banning firearms on campus "only deter the honorable" and that anyone intending to commit violence "would have no concern for breaking a university rule." ...

[Ohio] Buckeye Firearms Association reports "No Guns" rest stop signs removed:

... Buckeye Firearms Association has now received word from ODOT Assistant Legal Counsel Heather Sullivan that "the districts have reported all of the signs are down", and in fact that the last signs were removed earlier today.

While this process took longer than ODOT's original estimate of 30 days, we are pleased to be able to report that these state facilities should now be in full compliance with state law. ...

[California] San Diego high school air rifle team falls victim to "guns are evil" mentality:

... The duo, award-winning shooters for San Diego High School's air-rifle team, are relieved that the school board will allow them to compete through the end of the school year, rather than immediately putting an end to all campus marksmanship training. But happy? Not really.

“Just a little bit,” said Monica, 16.

The teammates are part of the district's Junior ROTC marksmanship program, which the board eliminated two weeks ago in response to criticism that air rifles, like other guns, shouldn't be tolerated on campuses.

The students and coaches who participate in the program say the activity has been unfairly maligned by critics who associate it with school and street violence. ...

David Codrea on gun control and racism (old article from last November):

I wonder what these constituents would say if they were provided the truth about the racist origins and continued discriminatory application of the gun control measures you promulgate? Have you told them about the Slave Codes, that would allow a black man to be whipped (or worse) for possession of any kind of weapon? Or the post-Civil War Black Codes, designed to keep the newly emancipated from obtaining the means of defense during the heyday of Klan terror?

Why don't you circulate the following Louisiana statute among a few of the churches that you get your precinct walkers from, and see what they have to say?

"No negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry fire-arms, or any kind of weapons, within the parish, without the special written permission of his employers, approved and endorsed by the nearest and most convenient chief of patrol."

...
Tell them how racist Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney concluded that blacks, as legal scholar and civil rights attorney Professor Don B. Kates has recorded, "could not be ‘citizens,' because if they were, they would have the right to vote, to assemble, to speak on political subjects, to travel freely, and ‘to keep and carry arms wherever they went.'" ...

Columnist says concealed carry keeps criminals guessing:

A large part of the reason most folks decide to carry a gun is personal protection. After that, they want to protect their family. Beyond that, they would really have to evaluate the situation before they would intervene. Did you know that by carrying a gun you help strangers everyday? Economists call it the substitution effect. When the possible number of people carrying a gun goes up, the criminals can't know who is carrying and who isn't. They sense that their job risk has gone up and they shift from confrontational crimes like robbery, murder, and rape to safer ones like car theft and burglary. They substitute one crime for another to increase their safety. Another form of substitution is going to a place where they know gun laws are tighter, and they are more confident that they won't run into a gun. Surveys of criminals behind bars indicate that they fear a civilian with a gun more than they fear a policeman with a gun. ...

[Arkansas] Permit privacy bill passes 98-1 in House:

House Bill 1623 came up for a House vote this morning and was passed almost unanimously, 98-1 and one no show. Rep. Lindsley Smith was the only "no" vote, the same one that voted against it in Committee.

This is an overwhelming majority and should tell others that the House believes that the names of concealed carry permit holders have a reasonable expectation of privacy and irresponsible publication's "right to know" ends where our right to privacy begins.

Now the Bill will go to the Senate Judiciary Committee. ...