The Right to Own and Carry

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." Thomas Jefferson, Quoting 18th Century criminologist Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment (1764.)

“[T]he right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The Second Amendment.

If there is one message I could give our state legislature, one piece of legislation I would insist on being passed, it would be to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus. The bill to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus is being reintroduced this session. This is the most important piece of legislation this session. I have written about this before, but this is a new legislative session and it bears repeating.

The majority of arguments against Concealed Carry on Campus (CCC) hinge on emotionally-manipulative hypothetical situations: What if some person who had a gun didn’t take their medication that day, allegedly like the Virginia Tech shooter, and just snapped? What if someone had a handgun in their room and their roommate accidentally killed themselves? What if someone is carrying at a party where there are drugs and alcohol? What if, what if, what if.

All of these arguments may be persuasive on the face, but they ignore the facts of the issue.

The second amendment says that American citizens have the right to “keep and bear arms.” Literally translated into modern English, that means the right to own and carry weapons.

This means that the right for students possessing concealed carry permits to carry their weapons with them on campus already exists, and current laws that prohibit such are unconstitutional.

Therefore, any person who does not support CCC cannot call themselves a conservative.

Any elected official who votes against CCC has taken a proactive stance in opposing a constitutional right, and thereby breaking their oath to uphold the constitution.

Oklahoma is a “shall-issue” state, meaning that anyone who applies and qualifies for a concealed carry permit is given one. If you can go to the movies, the grocery store, a restaurant or the bowling alley with the knowledge that anyone student-age in there could be carrying, then logically you should have no qualms about these same individuals carrying on campus.

This is my New Year’s resolution, as far as this blog is concerned: to address the issue of CCC, to dismantle the arguments against CCC, to provide you with resources regarding CCC, and to be the burr on the backside of every state elected official I can get my virtual hands on until they pass CCC.

I state this plainly because I know that there are people I work with in the political arena, both elected official and not, who oppose this Constitutional right. Just letting you know: until I change your mind, I’m not going to stop talking about it.

Happy New Year.