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There aren't enough hours in the day to deconstruct idiotic repetitions of talking point screeds like this, but here's my attempt.

I hope that I never have to see a gun used at Purdue.

Well, duh, dumbass (the author, not you, Mr. Twain) - we ALL hope we never see guns used at Purdue. Is ANYONE teaching critical thinking or writing in college any more?

OK, let's back pedal.

You'll be doing a lot of that if you ever stop and actually think about what you wrote instead of doing a cut and paste from the Brady Center website.

There has been a lot of talk and controversy about a piece of legislation going on in Texas which would prohibit college campuses from banning guns. Similar bills have been introduced and shot down in 23 states since 2007 (see what I did there?).

Note how the author very carefully does not mention what has happened in the states that have adopted the law. Wouldn't want empirical evidence (look it up, kid) interfering with my sweet little liberal world view.

I believe that everyone has the right to protect themselves in any way necessary, but mixing college and guns would bring nothing but trouble and tragedy.

Self evident internal contradictions in the logic of my writing are not going to stop me from making my point. See Hardastarboard's first critical point about this article above.

The main argument made by people who support the right to carry guns on campus is in regards to school shootings. < snip> Everyone wants to be a hero, and everyone wants to see bad people punished for doing bad things, but all the hindsight and good intentions in the world can't prepare you for what another person might do with a gun.

The author is right. Cops, SWAT teams, the FBI HRT, and American Special Forces should just quit bothering with that stupid training stuff, and with using and carrying guns. It doesn't work. You can never be prepared for bad guys with guns.

A college campus is just no place for guns. There is too much stress, alcohol, hormonal imbalance and general insanity.

Fortunately for all of us non-students, none of this stuff exists out here in the real world outside of college.

Two shootings have occurred while I've been at Purdue. The first one happened when some guys jokingly pointed a loaded gun at a friend, and it went off accidentally. Another one happened when an argument outside a night club turned violent. Alcohol was involved both times. Would adding more guns into the mix have made these events turn out better?

Let's turn that argument around, especially in the first example. Would adding more guns have made it WORSE?

Even if everyone carrying a gun goes through the background check, the three day waiting period, all the required paperwork, permits and training, something will eventually go south. The tension and paranoia would build and build until something or someone finally snapped.

Again, he's right. That's why we should disarm the police. They have even more stress and paranoia than the rest of us.

Do any of these publications have real editors any more?