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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- | |
| Oklahoma House Passes Bill: Vets and Actives to Carry on Campus | |
| 2008-03-15 | |
"How silly can we be to represent 10 percent of our constituency, the fringe out there?” Rep. Ray McCarter, D- Marlow, asked his fellow lawmakers. "This is just crazy.” A new version of the bill would restrict eligibility to students and faculty members who are active military members; or were honorably discharged from the military, National Guard or Reserves; or had received at least 72 hours of training from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, the agency that trains Oklahoma law officers. To get a concealed handgun permit, persons must be at least 21 and have had training in the use of handguns. Supporters of the measure, pointing to killing sprees on campuses in Virginia and Illinois, said having armed students or faculty members may have prevented the death toll because they could shoot back. House Bill 2513 passed, 65-36. It now goes to the Senate. Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, said he filed the bill after the Feb. 14 shootings that left six dead, including the gunman, at Northern Illinois University, as well as an attack April at Virginia Tech University, where a gunman killed 32. Murphey said Oklahomans with concealed handgun permits have acted responsibly since concealed weapons legislation went into effect 12 years ago. Critics at that time worried about road rage incidents and shootings, but the more than 60,000 Oklahomans who received concealed gun permits have acted reasonably and within the law, he said. He didn't respond when an opposing lawmaker told him that Lee Harvey Oswald, President Kennedy's assassin, could have qualified for a permit under his bill. Many higher education officials have expressed concern about the bill. Oklahoma Sate University's faculty council voted earlier this week to oppose the measure. "It will not accomplish what the bill designers hope it will accomplish,” Carol Moder, past faculty council chairman, said in a telephone interview. "It will certainly not improve safety on campus. I am concerned that it will do exactly the opposite, that it will put more lives at risk in the unlikely event that there is a serious shooting incident on campus.” The changes in the bill might restrict the number of people who are eligible to have guns on campus, but many of them are not trained to deal with campus shootings, she said. "In the active military the response protocols are completely different from what happens when there's civilian involvement in a university campus setting,” Moder said. Also, she said, police officers responding to the incident won't know "who the shooter is and who the protector is.” Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, said trained gun owners on campus could react quickly to a shooter who showed up on campus. Unarmed students are "caged victims” in classrooms, Duncan said. It takes just seconds for a gunman to start shooting, and then mass panic occurs, he said. Speaking against the measure, Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, said if the measure becomes law it would damage Oklahoma's chances of recruiting faculty. Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, also expressed dismay about the bill. "The leadership of every college in the state is against this bill, yet the House has voted against the wishes of the individuals with the most knowledge about campus safety,” he said. "I believe families, faced with the prospect of a gun-toting campus, will choose to send their children elsewhere, particularly out-of-state students who would otherwise come to Oklahoma.” | |
| Posted by:Gliger Fleaper8894 |
| #4 Speaking against the measure, Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, said if the measure becomes law it would damage Oklahoma's chances of recruiting faculty. On the contrary, you would get professors with a sense of discipline and responsibility---Just the type you need to replace the moonbats. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-03-15 20:59 |
| #3 #2 ...Well, when you consider how many former military either teach or attend school, this means you've probably just put the equivalent of a light rifle company on each campus in Oklahoma. Mike Unfortunately, they won't be able to shoot the ones that really need it - some of the faculty and most of the administration. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-03-15 19:32 |
| #2 ...Well, when you consider how many former military either teach or attend school, this means you've probably just put the equivalent of a light rifle company on each campus in Oklahoma. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2008-03-15 16:44 |
| #1 "Join the Mobile Infantry and save the Galaxy. Service guarantees citizenship. Would you like to know more?" |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-03-15 16:05 |