Posted on 04/08/2008 6:28:26 AM PDT by DaveLoneRanger
THE 25,000-MEMBER ORGANIZATION STUDENTS FOR CONCEALED CARRY ON CAMPUS PREPARES FOR ITS SECOND NATIONAL COLLEGIATE EMPTY HOLSTER PROTEST (APRIL 21-25)
During the week of April 21-25, 2008, thousands of college students throughout the United States, organized under the banner of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), will attend classes wearing empty holsters, in protest of state laws and school policies that stack the odds in favor of dangerous criminals and armed killers by disarming law abiding citizens licensed to carry concealed handguns virtually everywhere else.
SCCC hosted its first national collegiate Empty Holster Protest during the week of October 22-26, 2007, on the campuses of approximately 125 U.S. colleges and universities. This second Empty Holster Protest will expand upon the concept of the first protest, by placing greater emphasis on educating the uninformed. Protesters will focus on sharing the facts of “concealed carry” with students and faculty who may not be aware that concealed carry laws exist or that those laws differ on college campuses from most other locations.
As of April 7, 2008, approximately 3,200 students, from over 600 campuses, have RSVP'd that they will take part in SCCC's second Empty Holster Protest. While some campuses will have only one or two participants, others will play host to dozens of students wearing empty holsters and ConcealedCampus.com T-shirts.
In 39 U.S. states, thousands of college students and faculty—age 21 and above—are licensed to carry concealed handguns throughout their day-to-day lives. And they do so without incident. Numerous studies* by independent researchers and state agencies show that concealed handgun license holders are five times less likely than non-license holders to be arrested for violent crimes. However, despite the absence of any compelling evidence that these licensed individuals would pose any more threat to college campuses than they currently do to office buildings, movie theaters, shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, churches, banks, etc., they are prohibited, either by state law or school policy, from carrying their firearms onto most college campuses.
Colorado State University, Blue Ridge Community College (Weyers Cave, VA), and all nine public colleges in the state of Utah currently allow concealed carry on campus. After a combined total of more than sixty semesters of allowing concealed carry on campus, none of these schools have seen any resulting incidents of gun violence, gun accidents, or gun theft.
From assault to rape to mass shootings, college campuses are touched by every type of violent crime imaginable. Labeling an area “gun free” may make some people feel safer, but as the shootings at Virginia Tech and NIU taught us, feeling safe is not the same as being safe. There is a wide discrepancy between the intent of campus gun bans and the actual consequences of such bans. It is this discrepancy to which the student members of SCCC hope their Empty Holster Protest will draw attention. While opponents may argue that guns have no place in institutions of higher learning, SCCC contends that it is the rapes, the assaults, and the uncontested, execution-style massacres that have no place in America’s colleges. The students of the Empty Holster Protest respectfully ask that steps be taken to take the advantage away from those who seek to harm the innocent.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus we will neither host nor endorse any protests during the week of April 13-19. April 16 is to be a day of remembrance for the students, faculty, and families affected by the Virginia Tech shooting. SCCC wishes to avoid any action that might distract or detract from the memory of the individuals lost on April 16, 2007.
For more information, contact the SCCC Media Team at MediaTeam@ConcealedCampus.org or visit www.ConcealedCampus.com.
*“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” John Lott and David Mustard, Journal of Legal Studies (v.26, no.1, pages 1-68, January 1997); “An Analysis of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders as Compared to the Arrest Rate of the Entire Texas Population,” William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000; Florida Department of Justice statistics, 1998; Florida Department of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report,” 1998; Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-News, September, 2000; Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled by the Texas State Rifle Association
ABOUT STUDENTS FOR CONCEALED CARRY ON CAMPUS - Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprised of over 25,000 college students, college faculty members, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of concealed handgun licenses should enjoy the same rights on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCCC is dedicated to persuading state governments and school administrators to approve laws and campus policies that will grant all citizens with concealed handgun licenses the right to carry their concealed handguns on college campuses. We are not affiliated with the NRA, a political party, or any other organization.
For more information about SCCC and the issue of concealed carry on college campuses, download these PDF files:
About Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC)
Answers to the Most Common Arguments Against Concealed Carry on College Campuses
The Usual Questions about Concealed Carry on College Campuses
Will Allowing Concealed Carry on College Campuses Lead to More Violence?
Empty Holsters on Campus: P.C. leaves innocents defenseless (Washington Times op-ed)
SCCC Campus Handout
SCCC Responds to the Brady Campaign’s Conspiracy Accusations: “Prove it.”
A Few of the Brady Campaign’s Lies
State Laws Pertaining to Concealed Carry on College Campuses
SCCC Announces Second National Empty Holster Protest
SCCC Flyers
SCCC Endorses Georgia HB 915
SCCC Announces First National Empty Holster Protest
CONTACT:
David Burnett
Media Liaison
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
David.Burnett@concealedcampus.org
SCCC Media Team
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
MediaTeam@ConcealedCampus.org
http://www.ConcealedCampus.com
We'll be getting a LOT of media coverage about this in the weeks leading up to the protest, even though we're not doing anything during the anniversary week of Virginia Tech.
If you are someone with the media, or have contacts with someone in the media (in particular, persons such as Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Mark Levin) you are encouraged to contact me at the information above if you wish to feature the group on your shows.
In Massachusetts, if you wear an empty holster on campus, you will be immediately arrested for “assault.” End of CCW license. Massachusetts anti-self defense thuggery rivals that of China.
“Empty holsters” = VERY VERY COOL. I wish I was in college these days!
ping
Beat me to it, I was going to say I wish they had done this when I was in college a few years back.
How in the hell can an “article of clothing” constitue assult.
I’d be willing to take that one to trial.
Bloomberg's tobacco stormtroopers raid Vanity Fair office for 'ashtray violation'
Ashtrays are also outlawed lest they encourage people to smoke. Of 2,300 summonses issued since the Bloomberg Law came into force in May, more than 200 have been for "ashtray violations".
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