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Kacey Beddoes
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Anita Pere
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2008-02-04
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By Anita Pere
Staff writer
Baylor alumnus David Paul Cunningham, who in May threatened to destroy various buildings on Baylor's main campus, received three years of probation Thursday in a U.S. district court.
According to his attorney, Vik Deivanayagam, Cunningham, 34, was able to avoid prison time due to mental instability stemming from a serious head injury incurred while playing rugby at Baylor.
Cunningham faced a total of 20 years in prison for two felony counts of "maliciously conveying false information."
On May 1, Cunningham called a Baylor switchboard operator and told her he planned to place diesel drums in the basements of every building at Baylor, according to court records.
Cunningham said he would take this action in response to his perceived involvement of Baylor in the Virginia Tech shootings.
The Baylor Police Department was able to trace the call to a hotel room in Tyler, Cunningham's hometown.
The next day, Cunningham called Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak, threatening bodily harm. Again, he mentioned the Virginia Tech incident.
The call was traced to the same hotel room. The Tyler Police Department arrested Cunningham later that day.
"The justice system worked as it is supposed to," Doak said of the sentencing.
According to an article appearing in the Waco Tribune-Herald, Deivanayagam was able to convince U.S. District Judge Walter J. Smith Jr. that Cunningham did not grasp the levity of these threats and did not plan on carrying them out.
Deivanayagam said Cunningham was more or less "blowing off some steam."
Also in the article, Cunningham apologized to Judge Smith and said, "I just don't have a lot of tact in dealing with police enforcement."
Cunningham wrapped up his court statement by saying he wanted to see the elephants at the zoo in Tyler.
According to Baylor Lariat archives, Cunningham was kneed in the head during a scrimmage against the University of Texas in 1995. Cunningham suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a skull fracture.
He missed two weeks of school and his injuries required cosmetic surgery.
Cunningham graduated the next spring with a degree in engineering.
He was expelled for undisclosed reasons as a graduate student in 2001
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=47982">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=47982</a>
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
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Alum receives probation for 'maliciously conveying false information'
baylor
diesel drums in basements
maliciously conveying false information
threat
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Kacey Beddoes
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Claire St. Amant
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2008-02-05
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Aug. 20, 2007
By Claire St. Amant
City editor
In Texas, it isn't surprising to see cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots glistening under the sun. But there's one piece missing from the cowboy ensemble when Texans mosey on over to school campuses: a gun.
According to state law, guns are banned in several places, including schools, places of worship, correction facilities, bars, sporting events and other locations. Currently, individuals with concealed handgun licenses must check their weapon at the door, but maybe not for long.
In late April, Gov. Rick Perry called for "gun freedom" across Texas and said students should be allowed to protect themselves on campus. Arlington senior Andrew Sugg couldn't agree more.
Sugg is the leader of the Baylor chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group in favor of gun freedom in schools.
"I believe anyone with a CHL should be able to carry a gun everywhere," he said. "Most people don't even have to fire, just showing it is usually good enough (to control a situation)."
Sugg, who has been a licensed gun carrier for almost two years, recalls a time near campus in 2005 when the mere presence of his weapon distilled a potentially dangerous individual.
While Sugg was having a cup of coffee at Common Grounds, a homeless man started "aggressively" asking for money, he said. Feeling threatened, Sugg called the police, but before an officer made it to the scene, the man pulled a knife on another customer.
"I drew my weapon, the guy saw me, dropped the knife and ran," Sugg said. "I just put it back in my holster and went back to my coffee."
While this situation ended positively, Fair Oaks Ranch senior Alexandra Neville, president of Baylor Democrats, said she thinks gun control on and off campus are entirely different issues.
"What you do with your gun on your own time and for your own protection is up to you, but college campuses have their own protective measures and having students carry guns isn't one of them," she said.
Neville said students shouldn't have to worry about carrying their own gun to protect themselves because that responsibility falls more on the school and law enforcement.
"It's my belief that if you're trying to solve the problem of violence on campus, the last you would want to do is allow more people to carry weapons," she said.
Instead, Neville believes the problem could be combated with increased school counseling and preventive programs at an earlier age.
Sugg doesn't see it that way, and said he hopes people will move past the idea that "guns are bad" and recognize how they can be good, too.
"Most people who fear guns don't understand them at all," he said. "They have a Hollywood image of the gun being for the bad guy."
Josh Felker, U.S. Army veteran and owner of LoneStar Handgun in Killeen, agrees with Sugg.
"It's very important to expose people to guns and educate them about gun safety," he said. "Once people learn to use them, they usually aren't afraid (of guns) anymore."
In response to the shooting at Virginia Tech, Felker offered a free handgun-licensing course for teachers and students from May to July. Felker said around 40 people took advantage of the promotion, and while one student traveled from Oklahoma, most participants were local.
"There were quite a few Baylor students and a couple professors as well," he said.
Although guns are currently banned inside school facilities, Felker said, he hopes that will change.
"Law-abiding, licensed individuals should be able to carry a firearm because thugs and criminals will do it no matter what," he said.
Houston senior Theresa Doll disagrees.
"As an institute of higher learning, it's just not necessary to have students carrying guns," she said. "That's what law enforcement is for."
Doll, a member of the Baylor Democrats, said the right to bear arms is often overstated.
"Yes, we have a constitutional right to own and carry a gun," she said.""But that doesn't mean they have a place on college campuses."
Doll said she worries about students carrying guns and making irrational choices.
"It wouldn't make me feel safer for my roommate to have a gun," she said. "Especially not during finals when she's all stressed out."
While Doll believes shooting tragedies like Virginia Tech and Columbine need to be addressed, she said the problem is with adequate police units, not armed citizens.
"Supporting concealed weaponry is not the answer to the school shooting crisis," she said.
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46392">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46392</a>
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
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Students fight for guns on campus
baylor
gun freedom
guns on campus
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Baylor Editorial
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2008-02-05
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Aug. 20, 2007
Anytime a tragedy occurs we ask ourselves how it could have happened and how it can be prevented from ever happening again. So in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, gun rights advocates began calling for the repealing of bans on carrying concealed weapons on school campuses.
The national organization of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is one such group. There are eight chapters of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus in Texas, the most of any state.
Current Texas law forbids the carrying of concealed weapons in places like school campuses, places of worship and government property -- even if a person is licensed to carry.
Arlington senior Andrew Sugg, head of Baylor's SCCC chapter, seeks to make it possible for students to arm themselves at Baylor.
Groups like these have to use circular logic to reach their conclusions. Because a deranged individual brought guns onto campus, Sugg and others believe they should be allowed to bring theirs in order to protect themselves.
What the gun lobby conveniently forgets is that the mental history of Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho should have prevented him from ever obtaining a gun in the first place. Cho's mental history was recognized by a Virginia court in 2005, and due to inconsistencies between federal and state law, he was not entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
The problem is not with the laws, but with the ability of the system to work properly. If it did, Cho would not have been able to purchase a gun and the conversation may not have gone in this direction.
While it is clear that the response time of Virginia Tech's campus police was inadequate, this does not mean we should allow anyone who has gone through a criminal history check and a safety course to be a substitute for law enforcement. This vigilante attitude of circumventing the responsibility of law enforcement could potentially create many serious problems.
The majority of people who receive licenses to carry concealed weapons are responsible individuals, but they do not receive nearly the same level of training to handle situations that police do.
Although they do not receive the same amount of press coverage as a school shooting, accidents involving guns are far more common. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 776 accidental deaths and 75,685 injuries from firearms in 2001. It would be naïve to say that if bans on guns at these locations are repealed, there would be no accidents as a result.
The purpose of banning concealed weapons in certain places is because the state has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens in those locations.
How wise would it be to allow someone to carry a concealed weapon to a stadium? A church? Better yet, how about an airport? Baylor police chief Jim Doak was quoted in Baylor Line magazine saying it would be "unwise" to lift campus bans. We couldn't agree more.
Baylor SCCC has good intentions at heart -- making campus safer. But before we arm ourselves, there are other steps we can take that are both easier to implement and less double-edged.
One step is to have better emergency planning. School lockdowns for threats are commonplace at our nation's high schools -- the capacity for emergency response should be no different in colleges.
Another step is to better enforce the laws and have tighter background checks. Too many loopholes in state and federal laws are allowing people who shouldn't be able to, to get guns.
Even if state laws are changed, Baylor as a private institution has the right to ban concealed weapons on its own. We hope it continues to keep its rules in place, even if state schools allow concealed carry on their campuses.
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46387">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46387</a>
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
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Editorial: Gun groups gone wrong
baylor
concealed carry on campus
gun rights
guns on campus
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BRIAN BATEMAN
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2008-02-05
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April 25, 2007
By BRIAN BATEMAN
Until last Monday, the only things I knew about Virginia Tech University were that it was located in Virginia and the school colors -- orange and maroon -- were ugly.
Maybe that's because they are the colors of Baylor's two biggest conference rivals.
Or maybe they just don't go together.
But the tragedy on April 16 interrupted my ignorance.
As I watched the fallout from the shootings, I found myself removed from violence. I even found myself forgetting that a distant cousin is studying engineering there.
When I turned off the television, however, questions began to race through my mind.
They weren't the usual "why did he do it?" questions.
"What's a hokie?" "Where's Blacksburg?" "Did anyone famous go there?" and, once again, "Who thought of putting orange and maroon together?"
Well, for those who are as inquisitive as I am, here are the answers.
According to the school's Web site, "hokie" refers to a modified version of the first school spirit yell and Blacksburg is roughly 200 miles west of Richmond.
Famous alumni include Johnny Oates, who managed the Texas Rangers from 1995 to 2001, Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick and the creator of the gold safe at Fort Knox.
And as for the colors, a committee changed the colors from black and gray -- which the school Web site listed as "resembling prison uniforms" -- to burnt orange and Chicago maroon in 1896.
Well, at least it's a step in the right direction.
After I found the answers to these questions, I thought I would be satisfied. But my curiosity returned a few minutes later. Maybe it's because I'm a trivia nerd. Or maybe I'm just human.
There's something compelling about disorder -- it's the reason we tap our brakes and strain our necks, peeking over the concrete barrier between our vehicle and the mangled car wreck on the other side of the road.
It's also the reason the instant our friend says, "This water fountain is nasty!" we rush to taste the water, only to find our friend's opinion is the same as ours. We could have spared our taste buds the pain if we had just listened. It may be a morbid fascination, but we learn from it anyway.
Life's trials all have lessons, and it's up to each person to retain the concept we have to learn. And if you're lucky enough, you can watch it on CNN instead of outside your classroom window.
The point is, each of us is incredibly lucky to have the ability to learn from other people's troubling situations, and it's up to us to discover what that is.
It could be as simple as taking a second glance behind you before you walk into your dorm room, or learning where Blacksburg, Va., is.
Brian Bateman is a senior history and journalism major from Garland.
Opinions expressed in the Lariat are not necessarily those of the Baylor administration, the Baylor Board of Regents or the Student Publications Board.
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45480">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45480</a>
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
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In light of any tragedy, the best we can do is learn
baylor
learn
lessons
questions
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KATY MATLOCK
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2008-02-05
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April 24, 2007
By KATY MATLOCK
Contributor
Before April 16, the topic of stress at Baylor University could have provoked yawns in its predictability.
With final exams, social pressures and looming career goals as the ingredients, stress was an inevitable dish served up to college students across the nation. Occasionally, some deaths that are stress-related suggested a deeper problem stalking the shoulders of students. But in general, the consensus seemed to be that stress is a fact of life on college campuses.
On April 16, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old English major at Virginia Tech University, killed himself and 32 of his fellow "Hokie Birds."
The university shooting shocked the nation and threw a new stressor onto students' plates.
Over the next few weeks, students on the Baylor campus at the least will be coping with passing final exams, starting summer jobs and accepting a tragedy that shattered a fellow university's campus bubble. In addition, students may be facing difficult situations at home, financial struggles or post-graduation uncertainty.
As trite as it may seem, there are some helpful ways that students can persevere and even embrace life during the stress of the next few weeks.
Rachel Farris, a graduate student from St. Louis, includes a section on stress management in her Health and Human Behavior classes.
She encourages students to include short, fun activities in their schedules.
"Some of my students schedule times in their day to have a stress break where they might color, listen to music, work on art, read or write," Farris said.
Farris also applies these practices in her own life.
"I try to take regular breaks in my schedule to do things that I enjoy," she said.
In these breaks, she said, she may read, write, exercise or listen to music. She limits her breaks to less than an hour so that the break itself relieves rather than compounds her stress, she said.
Corpus Christi sophomore Patrick Roberts allows himself a break one day a week.
"If I don't get that one day off a week, my study time isn't as efficient," he said.
Roberts said he feels for the families affected by the Virginia Tech shootings.
"It was a horrible thing that happened," he said.
However, he said, he isn't personally stressed about it.
"I feel pretty safe on Baylor's campus as far as things like that go," he said.
Some stress can be a healthy motivator for students.
"The problem occurs when we have too much stress, or we do not handle our stress well," Farris said.
Kerry Mauger also teaches sections of Health and Human Behavior.
"Sometimes students spend more time stressing over what they have to do instead of focusing on doing it, which increases the feeling," said Mauger, a graduate student from Angora Hills, Calif.
She said that students also sometimes use alcohol and drugs to cope with stress.
Exercise, sleep and healthy eating habits consistently prove to be significant factors in combating stress. These tend to be the behaviors that students neglect during stressful times, said Carmen Boulton, a Santa Barbara, Calif., graduate student.
Boulton teaches Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Relaxation and Fitness.
"Not taking care of your body is common," Boulton said. "Trying to function on very little sleep, caffeine and no or poor quality food definitely affect performance in a negative way.
"I think one of the most common ways that we deal with stress is avoidance, which in the long run just makes any situation worse when we get up to the last minute and have not prepared enough," Boulton said.
Dallas junior Katie Richardson said going to the lake by her house to sit and meditate helps her when she's feeling stressed.
"Don't stress about things you can't do anything about," she said.
The most common source of stress in her life is finances, Richardson said, and her most common means of handling stress is prayer.
"You've just got to put it in God's hands," Richardson said. "But when you do, you have to really let it go and leave it in his hands."
Against the backdrop of Baylor's Christian heritage, many students on campus rely on their faith during stressful circumstances.
"I believe that faith has a strong place within stress management," Farris said. "Faith can give an individual guidance on how to prioritize the things in life.
Keeping a good perspective on what is important can help minimize stress by allowing that individual to accept when they have committed all that they can afford to commit to an aspect of their life."
Boulton said it is reassuring to know that God is in control during stressful situations.
"Planning specific time to give to God can help keep school in perspective and remind us that there is a lot more going on and we are part of a much bigger plan," she said.
Kyle Dunn, college pastor at Highland Baptist Church, said the college ministry encourages students to turn to prayer and to their Christian friendships amid stress. Dunn, a Baylor alumnus, has worked predominantly with college students in Waco for seven and a half years.
In light of the Virginia Tech shooting, it is particularly important for students not to go through this stressful season alone, he said.
Students can find companionship in the church, Dunn said.
During the upcoming study days, the department will set up a place for students to study in the Highland church building.
On Sunday the college department presented a message titled, "Tragedy and Hope."
"We're really trying to encourage the students," Dunn said.
Dunn said Factors outside of academic life, such as interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex and circumstances at home, can contribute to students' stress.
The Baylor counseling center has included a link to several Web sites to help students cope with traumatic stress after the Virginia Tech shootings. Students who would like to speak with a counselor can call the Baylor counseling center at 254-710-2467.
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45462">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45462</a>
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eng
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
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Campus creates major issues
baylor
counseling
stress management
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IDA JAMSHIDI
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2008-02-05
Description
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April 17, 2007
By IDA JAMSHIDI
Reporter
Government officials are calling it the deadliest rampage in the history of the United States.
Virginia Tech University was the site of a mass shooting Monday, leaving at least 33 people dead, including an unidentified gunman, whom police believed took his own life. Dozens were injured.
Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak said it is nearly impossible to predict an incident like the Virginia Tech shooting. But he said Baylor police regularly participate in structured drills so that officers are prepared for this type of event.
"We want to act swiftly. We want to be decisive with an active goal of neutralizing or killing the shooter," Doak said.
If a person is caught in the midst of a shooting, Doak said the best thing to do is look for a way out.
"Preferably, you're looking for an opening," he said. "If you have no way out, your best offense is to play dead. Drop to the floor and lay there motionless."
Doak said Baylor students should be aware of their surroundings and not hesitate to report suspicions.
"Awareness is the greatest ally of any student," he said. "Students don't normally think in terms of what's around the next corner."
The Baylor Police Department receives around 400 "suspicious person" calls every year, said Doak, while 20 years ago, they received only about 25 calls reporting suspicious behavior.
Dr. Susan Matlock-Hetzel, a psychologist at the Baylor Counseling Center, said that when people are caught in a dangerous situation, such as a shooting, they might do things they would not normally do.
"If people are placed in that kind of emotional, shocking event, our natural tendency is to go into that fight or flight response," she said. "Our mental capacities would go to surviving."
Matlock-Hetzel said that the trauma of the shooting will affect each student differently, and the university will have to decide what is best for the majority of the students.
"That community will be having multiple phases of responding to this event," Matlock-Hetzel said. "You have your crisis mode and then you have your more long-lasting clean-up."
Justin Brown, an Alexandria, Va., junior, has several friends who attend Virginia Tech. He said many of them have posted messages on Facebook and AOL Instant Messenger, writing, "I'm OK," or "I'm alive."
Brown said he still hasn't heard from all of his friends, but he is attempting to reach them.
"When something's going on around them, you want to make sure they're okay," Brown said.
In an e-mail sent out to Baylor faculty and staff from President John Lilley on Monday afternoon, he expressed his remorse for survivors and for the Virginia Tech campus.
"While preventing such an attack with 100 percent certainty is impossible, I want to reassure you that we do have systems in place to respond to emergencies, and to minimize harm to our students, staff and faculty," Lilley wrote.
He went on to describe that the Baylor campus has 24 fully trained police officers, an emergency public address system in all resident halls and some academic buildings, and a recently installed dual e-mail/voice mail system.
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45273">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45273</a>
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
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Random attacks difficult to stop
awareness
baylor
offense
predict
random attacks
trauma
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Kacey Beddoes
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Andrew Sugg
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2008-02-05
Description
An account of the resource
Aug. 28, 2007
The article "Students fight for guns on campus" by Claire St. Amant was amazing. I feel she showed the views of both sides without offending either.
With that said, I noticed the editorial "Gun groups gone wrong."
This editorial has obviously come from a person who has not adequately researched into concealed handguns and the lawful use of them.
Each year over 170,000 crimes are deterred by law abiding, licensed people who use their weapons without firing a single shot.
Sometimes it's the mere thought of a weapon being present that can deter the crime.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is not saying that those with concealed handgun licenses should be vigilantes.
During our courses, we are taught how to respond not only if we are forced as a last resort to pull the trigger, but also how to react with police officers under any under circumstances.
I don't want to give the wrong impression when I say this, but even if Baylor police could afford to employ more officers, they can't always protect us.
There was an instance within a year prior of Virginia Tech at Appalachian Law School.
A shooter entered into the school and began shooting. Two students who were following the state laws of "no guns on campus" ran to their vehicles and broke the law to save the lives of their fellow students. They apprehended the shooter and waited for police to arrive to arrest the shooter.
There was a similar situation in Pennsylvania where a vice principal of a junior high saved his students' lives.
A madman entered the school with a shotgun and began shooting; the vice principal ran to his truck to retrieve his pistol. He returned to stop the shooter from injuring any more of his students.
Yes, our current system can be improved. In the instance of the Virginia Tech shooter, he was let through a loophole that Virginia had set up.
I agree that certain people should not be allowed to own or even touch a firearm. Texas has laws in place that make it a felony.
SCCC bases its views off of statistics and reports that we have collected worldwide.
Our information proves that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry weapons into areas significantly reduces crime.
In the U.S. it deters approximately 15 percent of all crimes and 30 percent of violent crimes.
We are asking that our respective states allow the most law-abiding citizens, with a crime rate of less than 0.001 percent, to be allowed to continue defending ourselves.
SCCC understands two things among many: one is that "gun -free zones" in America are false comforts that have given us some of our nation's worst tragedies and two, that allowing law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons reduces crimes and equals the playing field.
We are not countering against or trying to be a replacement for law enforcement.
Those with concealed handgun licenses are a crime deterrent, practicing one of their rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
Andrew Sugg
Aviation Sciences, 2008
--
Original Source: The Lariat
<a href="http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46485">http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46485</a>
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eng
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Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
Title
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Letter to the editor
baylor
concealed carry on campus
gun laws
guns on campus