Free Republic

There is little doubt that this will be the most controversial column I’ve written to date. But sometimes when working in a university environment one is exposed to ideas that one simply cannot repudiate. And this requires a modification of views – even if those views are deeply held - or very fun, or both. Such an occasion happened last week on Empty Holster Day – an event sponsored by the College Republicans at UNC-Wilmington. It began as an event designed to convince campus leftists that our laws should be modified to allow those above 21 years of age (with...

Nathaniel Sheetz knows he and other Penn State University students are protected by armed campus police. Just the same, he'd like to start bringing his own gun to class. If someone were to pull out a weapon and start shooting, he argues, he and his classmates could be dead in seconds before those officers arrive. Mr. Sheetz belongs to a group whose controversial message is getting more attention after a string of school shootings this month, including one at Northern Illinois University in which a gunman killed five people and wounded 16 in a lecture hall before taking his own...