South Carolina to Allow Handguns in School - by ANYONE w/ a permit

Just heard this on the national news a few minutes ago.

www.startribune.com...

COLUMBIA, S.C. — To prevent school shootings, some South Carolina legislators want more guns on campuses.

A House subcommittee approved a measure Wednesday that would allow concealed weapon permit holders to carry guns onto public school campuses, from elementary schools to universities. Supporters say having trained and armed gun owners in schools could prevent massacres like the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, where one armed student killed 32 people

Only Utah currently has a law allowing concealed weapons on campuses.

"We're not talking about kids. We're talking about responsible adults," said Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan, who sponsored the bill.

Opponents fear more guns will mean more accidental shootings, and questioned if colleges were an appropriate environment for guns.

"I'm concerned about more guns around younger people combined with emotions and sometimes alcohol," said Rep. Doug Jennings, a Democrat. "I don't think it's a proper reaction to the Virginia Tech tragedy."

The bill heads to the House Judiciary Committee, though it is not expected to pass the Legislature before its scheduled adjournment for the year next month. Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, said he hadn't yet thought about the bill.

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Can't wait to see the debates spark from this one. Hope this hasn't been posted yet - I didn't see it in this forum.

Sheesh I remember the days when you got expelled for a year for just having a gun. Now they want you to?

You better recommend me Professor, or I'm gonna kill ya. Imagine that scenario where guns could be used for their agenda to achieve something through college.

I may be a supporter of gun rights, and generally support people having them and such,
but this is got to be one of the most idiotic and irresponsible pieces of legislation I've ever heard of.

There are some places guns should not be allowed, and schools, unless they are used
by a trained police officer or security professional, are one of those places.

It makes sense to me to allow responsible adults to have effective protection against an insane violent person. The police can't be everywhere all the time. Concealed weapons are allowed in many places outside of school without any major problem.

I haven't heard about mass shootings anywhere except in schools. If someone doesn't want to take the responsibility and go through the permit process to be able to carry a concealed weapon, they don't have to. If you thought of all these additional responsible adults as acting similiar to a secondary police force, the thought of having lots of hidden police on campus would probably make sense to some who aren't seeing what I am.
I don't think the idea is crazy at all.

"Now, you know, students, Mrs. Higgins has been teaching here for 40 years and wants all her students to do their best on the state test today. We want to beat the NCLB scores of our neighbor to the north. So, Mrs. Higgins is going to sit here with her finger on the trigger to make sure all you squirrelly second graders work quietly on your test. No cheatin' now. Begin."

Seriously now, a concealed gun in a classroom?? Teachers lock purses up so they're not stolen; will the gun be locked in a cupboard? Will the teacher carry the gun on his/her person (which some of my police friends even have the courtesy to let friends know they're carrying, in case it makes some adults anxious)? Accidental discharge injuries/damage worries?

I believe Utah has allowed concealed weapons in school for some time. Why aren't any of these concerns ever talked about in Utah? Maybe because the concerns never materialized? Maybe the concerns were talked about in Utah but it never made it to the national news and I never heard a peep about any problems there.

Originally posted by orionthehunter
I believe Utah has allowed concealed weapons in school for some time. Why aren't any of these concerns ever talked about in Utah? Maybe because the concerns never materialized? Maybe the concerns were talked about in Utah but it never made it to the national news and I never heard a peep about any problems there.

I believe that they are allowed in Colleges there, not schools in general.

Originally posted by orionthehunter
I believe Utah has allowed concealed weapons in school for some time. Why aren't any of these concerns ever talked about in Utah? Maybe because the concerns never materialized?

And you would be right on all accounts. There were some concerns, still are with some, about being able to carry a concealed weapon in public schools and churches, but there hasn't been the shoot out at the OK Corral that some predicted.

Most people here were raised around guns and have an appreciation and a healthy respect for them - we see concealed weapons as a deterent to crime and so far it has been.


bleys

Quoted by Iori..

but this is got to be one of the most idiotic and irresponsible pieces of legislation I've ever heard of!

Ou contrair! Sounds like a good idea to me! I say let the responsible adults in the schools carry if they want. On their person so no one knows for sure who does and who doesn't. Is the janitor carrying?? Otherwise the kid with the gun is able to imagine he has all the power.
A small gun can be carried very discretely and it doesn't need to be carried every day to every class. Just the idea that maybe he or she has a gun..
Think what a difference a "School Carry" law would have made at Virginia Tech!!

Bravo!!
I only wish they would go the next step. Which is require teachers and Faculty to be trained and armed. This decision will save many lives and much heartache over the long run. It's nice to see politicians do the right thing rather than cave to politically correct pressure.

Before so many states passed the CCW laws ... Every time the law would come up... The hew and cry would go up that there would be blood running, knee deep, in the streets. The gun owners would make each stop sign or stop light an opportunity to have target practice on one the other. There would be accidental discharges resulting in massive loss of life and limb.

Guess what ... None of it happened. I sometimes despair of the people that inhabit this planet becoming the "sheeple" that they are often called. It is demoralizing to think that gun owners aren't all the wild-eyed, blood-lustng, UberKillers that the anti-gun folk would have you think. It really does become demoralizing when responsible people act in a responsible manner, regardless of what the frothing mouth experts predict.

It is more than difficult to believe that someone with the "chosen" responsibility to carry a concealed weapon does not, immediatel, become a blood-crazed, wild-eyed, blood-drkinking, sheeple.

I believe that the harpies will, one day, tear down th right of the individual to carry weapons, concealed or otherwise. At that time, we will cease to become citizens and become subjects. However, until that day, I think it is right, and proper to contest those sorts of concepts, and take part in exercising your, currently, inalienable rights.

One final thought ... Even Geraldo stated that, if someone had had a gun other than the killer at Virginia Tech (lets really not dehumanize it by calling it VT), things might have been a little more even. There might be hope for the dear boy, yet.

Here's another aspect.

As the baby boomer population gets older, they reach a point where they are still in possession of their faculties but are weaker, move slower, have arthritis, but can still think quickly, qualify on a shooting range, drive a car well and so on.

But they are not able to defend themselves against strong fast young hoodlums who might attack them when they see a cane or see them moving slowly but deliberately to their car...

I think the best defense would be to get trained and get a concealed carry permit.

Have them re-cert each year if you like.

I was never in favor of guns but now as I get a step slower, (but still plenty quick) I can see the need for something to even up the odds.

I'm not for -using- the weapon without extreme due diligence, and I hope the knowledge by criminals that senior citizens are now carrying will make them think twice. Thus a senior will very rarely have to use their weapon, but as a class will all be seen as equal to your average citizen - i.e. not victims.

Does that make sense?

... but the school shooter at VT was legally permitted to carry weapons... how the hell is this supposed to stop shootings? They're already suicidal, do you think they will care if others are going to fire back? No.

This just allows them to walk into the campus with the firearm legally now.

I'm starting to really question if someone has put something in the water down there... fewer and fewer people are thinking anymore.

STATING THE OBVIOUS :

1 - banning guns will NOT stop crimminals carrying / using them

2 - allowing people to carry does NOT turn them into trigger happy sociopaths - twitching to settle every sleight real or imagined with deadly force

Quoted by Badge01

I was never in favor of guns but now as I get a step slower, (but still plenty quick) I can see the need for something to even up the odds.

This is making a lot of sense! Nicely stated Badge, great post!

Did any one hear about that American man with a gun liscense, putting a bullet in a vice to see if it would go off??? Of course the bullet went of bounced of the ceiling then wounded him in the stomach.
Bassicly people with gun liscences arn't even to be trusted with ammo let alone guns.
From the UK

johnsky its not about the shooter....so what if he/she is suicidal, the point is before they can go and kill 32 people or x amount of people, someone can take action and kill the shooter BEFORE they gain momentum.

As for this law..take a moment to think about the law. I think alot of people are confusing SCHOOL and the carrying of a GUN. You have to be 21 to legally own and carry a weapon. That means almost ALL of the people will NOT be students. Except for a few SENIORS who at the age of 21 are now legal to carry a firearm anywhere they want. The only thing this law does is open the carry radius to school grounds...that is the only change in all of this...

I think some people are imagining high school kids with guns and other kids packin, etc..and kids going to parties in college with guns etc...the thing is..a 21 year old college senior can walk into his frat house party OFF CAMPUS with a gun and its legal...so things could go wrong there as well...all this is doing is trying to help deter the idiots who think they can just walk onto school grounds and start killing anyone they want!

and skunk...i know that story...the guy was an idiot! When you have no common sence (i.e. a bullet which explodes when the primer is struck, a vise which provides no protection or a means for the bullet to saftly discharge, and an idiot who wants the brass to turn in for money, that equation equals no common sense!) you get hurt! Noone ever said we didn't have a some real winners among us! And no we don't have a cure for stupid, unfortunatly!

[edit on 17/5/07 by shadow_soldier1975]

I dont see what the big deal is. With over 40 states having either concealed carry or open carry legal the majority of us could be surrounded by guns when we walk downtown or go to the mall and not even know it. Their isnt an abundance of shoot-outs or dueling going on. What we get when some crazy goes to shoot up a mall is a dead crazy because someone is there to stop him. If there is a shootout its because a crime has yaken place and criminals dont care about gun laws (theyre criminals folks) or its because some nut climbed a tower with a rifle (no amount of banning or permitting will ever stop that). In regards to the nut on the tower, it was legal gun owners in Texas who kept that shooters head down so he couldnt fire into the crowd of people anymore.

Nobody was there to stop Cho when he decided to shoot up VA Tech.
A previous poster claimed Cho was legally licensed to carry. I dont believe he was. He was permitted to purchase but he had no permit to carry. Though I could be mistaken.

Next time any of you are out in public look around and try to spot the people carrying. Look for printing or little clips on belts that dont seem connected to anything. We're everywhere and 99.99999999998% of the time dont pull it out and start shooting school buses filled with kids or station wagons filled with nuns. If we use it at all its to stop the crime from happening. If you want to take our right to carry away just remember that the criminal with the illegal gun really isnt very concerned whether or not he is breaking the law by illegally carrying a weapon. Cho didnt seem to care that his illegal carry was law breaking.

Originally posted by deltaboy
You better recommend me Professor, or I'm gonna kill ya.

Imagine that scenario where guns could be used for their agenda to achieve something through college.

Actually, that HAS happened.

Profs do get threats of violence from students who feel they deserve to pass (sometimes they haven't done the work or showed up for class and they still think they deserve to pass (I am speaking from personal experience, here).) Coercion (including offering sexual favors) is not unusual ... and threats of violence aren't unheard of.