Increase in Crime On and Around VCU Campus Prompts Debate on Campus Carry

CBS 6 had this story last night on how the increase in crime on and around the VCU campus has students talking about Campus Carry.  Before the increase in crime, the VCU chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus had 62 members.  They now have 85 and they continue to sign up daily.

GMU Joins Empty Holster Protest

George Mason University will be joining other colleges and universities in the annual Empty Holster Week to protest laws and university rules banning concealed carry on college campuses.
Empty Holster Week is the signature event of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus and runs from today through Friday.
Students Want Concealed Guns at Mason | NBC Washington

JMU Students Participate in "Empty Holster" Week

The James Madison University (JMU) student newspaper blog posted a story today about students who are participating in this week's "Empty Holster" protest. For the second year in a row, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is sponsoring the protest as part of their effort to raise awareness and change the rules prohibiting legal concealed carry on college and university campuses.

Like most institutions of higher learning, JMU prohibits firearms on campus. While visitors to the campus cannot be prohibited from carrying their legally permitted concealed handgun according to a 2006 Attorney General's Opinion, Virginia's colleges and universities can ban students and employees from carrying.

JMU has a very active chapter of SCCC and members are working to change university policy.

“It’s clearly been shown that a college is not secure,” said junior Kory Verdonck, SCCC’s service coordinator. “Courthouses, airports [where weapons are prohibited] have very heavy security, and campus security has holes.”

Not surprising, JMU takes a different view:

University spokesman Don Egle disagreed with SCCC’s opinion that JMU was not a secure campus.

“The university is responsible for ensuring a safe environment for students and staff,” Egle said. “We have a great law enforcement division and a responsible faculty and staff. Individuals carrying concealed weapons does not make campus safer.”

Maybe Mr. Egle should sign up for a Google News Alert with the key words "Crime on College Campuses" and he would get the same list of articles that this writer receives everyday. Like any police department, college police cannot protect every individual. They react to incidents, usually after they have happened. All the JMU students, and the other students who support SCCC's position, want is the ability to protect themselves should the need arise.

The JMU chapter will also be holding an open forum-style debate on the issue on the Campus tonight at 6 p.m. for any students who are interested.

First Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Conference a Success

The first SCCC National Conference was held in Washington DC last Friday. C-Span carried the conference live and if you did not have an opportunity to watch, you can see a reply online here (requires Real Player). Look for a full report on the conference in the next issue of the Bullet. Don't get the Bullet? Click here to join VSSA today and you will get the next issue of the Bullet plus add your voice to the thousands of Virginians that are already members. Hat tip to SCCC for the link to the conference video.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) will hold its first National Conference on August 1, 2008, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Students can receive one free night at a hotel in or around the D.C. area, and students traveling outside a 750-mile radius of D.C. will receive a $250 travel stipend. Please note the stipend is limited to the first 30 students that respond. SCCC will make an announcement once the limit has been reached. SCCC's national organizers are strongly encouraging all members to attend this historic event. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet like-minded individuals from throughout the United States, make important contacts, and hear well known scholars speak about concealed carry on college campuses. For more information contact Reservations@ConcealedCampus.org. Students can CLICK HERE to RSVP via Facebook.

Hat tip to Dave Hardy.