Anti-gunnites are so cute when they’re proving the wrong point. Here we Zachary Stone, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin and a founder of UT Students Against Guns on Campus in the NY Times
I’m a Responsible Gun Owner? Seriously?
“WHAT are you doing?
I had just shot a gun for the first time. The instructor was yelling at me because he couldn’t understand how a 22-year-old missed a target some four feet tall and two feet wide, standing only nine feet away. But he was completely at ease when, 10 minutes later, he certified me for a concealed handgun license application.
In late May, after school let out, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that, among other things, authorized individuals with concealed handgun licenses to carry firearms in most college buildings. “Campus carry†was a hard-fought victory for Republicans. My school — the University of Texas at Austin — continues to largely oppose the law. Administrators, the student government and the faculty council have all publicly regretted our legal reality. We don’t like it that students 21 or older can get a license, buy a gun and bring that gun to class. One clever undergraduate’s protest involves students bringing sex toys to school because, unlike guns, they are not allowed on campus.
Stone’s idea here was to prove how darned easy it is to get a permit to carry on campus. And, he has zero knowledge of guns, didn’t bother to read the instructions that came with the gun, and the instructors supposedly made it super duper easy for him to pass. They had to sit through a six hour class, but the instructor gave them the answers for the test right before the test, making sure the attendees understood what is right and what is wrong. That was apparently Bad in Stone’s world. But, hey, he knows what to do and what not to do! The instructor helped him with the basics of shooting, such as looking through the sights and releasing a magazine.
And, after this instruction, he scored pretty well on shooting targets, 216, with 175 needed to pass. Looks like Stone soaked up the instruction.
Now, this whole exercise was about trying to punk the Republicans during a debate he was moderating between Dems and Republicans. I’m wondering if he did anything to attempt to stymie Democrats? Anyhow
After almost zero training and a 10-minute test, the State of Texas considers me responsible to carry a gun. Once my background check clears, I’ll have the license. I am not an outlier. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, 99.7 percent of applicants in 2014 received their license.
Hosting the university debate, I did my best to remain impartial. But the Republicans got the toughest question after I told this story to a crowded auditorium.
“Given that the system allows me — lacking firearm experience — to get a license, would you be comfortable if we sat with each other in class, upon learning I’m secretly carrying a gun?â€
What’s missing is the notion of personal responsibility. The class is there to help people pass and use their Constitutional and legal rights. It’s expected that gun owners will continue exercising personal responsibility through the use of firing ranges, and keeping up with the law regarding where it is legal to use the concealed carry permit. Liberals, unfortunately, have little in the way of personal responsibility, instead relying almost solely on Government dominance.
Much like driving a motor vehicle, carry a firearm is a responsibility. How many times do you see someone and wonder “how the heck did they get a license? Why does no one pull their license? They need a remedial driving course.”
To answer his question, the answer is yes. Stone obviously learned to use the weapon. He has a legal right to carry it on campus. And, if he’s sitting next to me and freezes during a situation where he should pull it, I’ll take it and use it properly. Of course, there is a lot lower chance that anyone hell bent on doing something bad will do it in a Gun Carry Zone. Active shooters do not like going places where people might shoot back quickly. Hence, the reason why the majority of shooter situations occur in No Gun Zones.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Isn’t requiring training and certification a form of “gun control”? Why do true Americans tolerate this infringement of a clearly enshrined right?
If we allow the state to infringe our right to bear arms even a little, doesn’t that open the door to them infringe a lot?
What right does the state have to tell an American patriot that he can’t carry a Walther PPK hidden in his pocket and to carry it wherever and whenever he sees fit???
Good question, so what right do universities have to restrict free speech as many have been doing lately so as not to offend their little snowflakes? Or to mandate how two people who want to have sex consent to it. Talk about the government in the bedroom….
Free speech? Of course there are limits always have been
Sex?? Until 3 years ago Texas GOP party platform had a plank calling for sodomy to be recriminalized
Most universities are private I also gave a right to tell you to pipe down when you are on my property
What about your 2nd Amendment. and planes? The 2nd has ALWAYS. Had restrictions
Of course EVERYONE has a right to own a weapon that could kill dozens of people easily
That only makes sense
And really to fight a tyrannical government we need anti tank mines and RPGs right? You can’t expect to take in tanks with pistols
Ignorance once again rears its had with john.
The government may regulate time, place and manner of speech after showing a compelling interest in doing so. The first case that codified that was the case of Cox v. New Hampshire which was decided in 1941.
Hardly a ringing proof of “always has been,”
However, even so, the government may not regulate the content of speech and that, dear lil johnny, is something the rest of us learned in 2nd grade.
Jeffrey is absolutely right: as long as Mr Stone was not a convicted felon — the Fourteenth Amendment specifically allows the suspension of constitutional following due process of law — then he should not be in any way required to be certified or trained to own and carry a firearm.
Is Mr Stone a responsible gun owner? He missed the point entirely: it isn’t his familiarity and accuracy with the weapon which makes him responsible, but the fact he (apparently) doesn’t choose to use his weapon to infringe on the rights of other people.
Jeffrey asked:
None, actually, and we should not accept the notion that the state should be able to say that said American patriot cannot bear a concealed firearm. Carrying a concealed weapon violates no one else’s rights, as long as the weapon is not used illegally.
[…] Teach on The Pirate’s Cove: Anti-gun Activist Get’s Concealed Carry Permit To Prove He’s Not A Responsible Gun Owner Zachary Stone, a Special Snowflakeâ„¢ at the University of Texas, didn’t have any previous […]
– LOL. Of course, you’d have your own gun too. We can see you, guns in each hand blowing those bad Muslims away! LOL. Sorry for laughing, but seriously, LOL.
– There’s more evidence supporting AGW than the notion that mass killers “choose” gun free zones. Most shooters have a different motive, don’t they?
– Again, any evidence to support what mass shooters are thinking? [see below, as well]
– Use your reasoning here. Most mass shooters are involved in murder-suicides and/or suicide by cop. Why would they care if other amateur shooters are there? They don’t.
And just where did the last terrorist attack take place?
Oh yeah….in a gun free zone.
Do you think that the two Muslim terrorists chose his workplace because it was a gun free zone?
Do you think the Christian terrorist chose Planned Parenthood because it was a gun free zone?