Monday, April 16, 2007

Imagine if Students Were Armed

Read this letter and see the contempt Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech, publicly heaps on the suggestion that students may need to defend themselves.

Here is the letter he ridiculed.

Comments on Virginia Tech Shooting

Naturally, amidst the horror, we could expect this:

"We live in a society where guns are pretty well accepted," said Jim Sollo, of Virginians Against Handgun Violence. "There are 200 million guns in this society and obviously some in the wrong hands."
And just as obviously, not enough in the right ones. Per the Virginia Tech Campus and Workplace Violence Prevention Policy:

2.2 Prohibition of Weapons

The university’s employees, students, and volunteers, or any visitor or other third party attending a sporting, entertainment, or educational event, or visiting an academic or administrative office building or residence hall, are further prohibited from carrying, maintaining, or storing a firearm or weapon on any university facility, even if the owner has a valid permit, when it is not required by the individual’s job, or in accordance with the relevant University Student Life Policies.

Any such individual who is reported or discovered to possess a firearm or weapon on university property will be asked to remove it immediately. Failure to comply may result in a student judicial referral and/or arrest, or an employee disciplinary action and/or arrest.

2.3 Authorized Exceptions to Prohibition on Possession of Firearms or Weapons


An employee may possess a firearm or weapon if it is:
  • Used by an employee who is a certified law enforcement officer employed by the Virginia Tech Police Department;
  • Required as a part of the employee’s job duties with the Commonwealth of Virginia; or
  • Connected with training received by the employee in order to perform the responsibilities of their job with the university.
Employees and students may possess and use appropriate tools, such as saws, knives, and other such implements, necessary for the performance of their job duties or school work, or for student recreational purposes approved under University Student Life Policies. Certain agricultural workers have been authorized to use firearms, and hunting on university property may be authorized by the appropriate university officials. Some employees reside in university-owned houses and are permitted to keep personal firearms on these premises; however, this exception does not extend to employees living in university residence halls.

As stated in The University Policies for Student Life, students may not possess, use, or store firearms or weapons on university property; however, firearms and other weapons may be stored with the Virginia Tech Police Department to be checked out for use off-campus. Organizational weapons of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, approved by the Commandant, are not prohibited by this policy.

Other exceptions must be approved by the Vice President for Business Affairs, in consultation with appropriate university offices.
Here's one other thing we can expect: The renewed cries for disarming you and me will push this debate into a level of hysteria and demands that will be unlike anything we have yet encountered. This will be a catalyst. Count on it.

Stanley Taken Captive

At about 11:30am Denver time, as Rick and I were exiting our bank, a dozen or so swat team descended upon us. They fired stun grenades in order to disorient us and screamed at us to get down on the ground. They proceeded to tie our arms behind our backs, then handcuff us. As they were doing this we were asking "what is going on?" They merely told us that Rick's bond had been revoked by a judge.

Here's the most recent update I've received (Sunday, April 15, 2007 9:17 PM):
I just got back from Denver County Jail a few minutes ago. I was able to visit
with Rick for about 10 minutes after waiting approximately 2-1/2 hours. My
sister-in-law and her husband were kind enough to take me down there and wait
with me, although only 1 of us was allowed up to see him. We got there at about
6:40pm and they allow 3 groups of 10 in, starting at 7:00pm. I was in the 3rd group.

He seems to be holding up well under the circumstances. He was allowed a shower this morning and he is still in the clothes he had on yesterday when they took him into custody. There is a large hole in the back of his shirt and a large bandage on his back from where they bean bagged him when they ambushed us yesterday. Apparently he was burned pretty bad by that. Needless to say, I am pretty upset about that! You know him though, he seems to be taking all this in stride. I think he feels the worst that I was subjected to their abuse as well.

We expect that he will be moved to Adams County tomorrow. Then he will hopefully get a hearing as soon as possible and a new bond set. I will advise everyone as soon as I get more information

Pam Stanley
Here's a link to the last "news" story I could find. The "authorized journalists" make quite a show out of portraying Rick as a "threat" on behalf of their government partners.

Here's a link to what I had to say about that.

It doesn't look like the oppressors are going to stop poking with that stick, does it?

Exercise your unalienable Second Amendment-recognized right to keep and bear arms in the United States of America and end up in the gulag as a political prisoner.

Dear Abby, Dear Abby, My Fountain Pen Leaks...*

I don't know what to do, and aside from whether or not my parents would approve, and all other logistical/material concerns aside, I'm not really sure whether I should buy a gun.--Sane Gun Lover
-------------
Why not say that, as interesting and psychically rich as our twisted Southern heritage is, it's time to retire the guns.--Cary Tennis
Gun Lover, Gun Lover
You have no complaint
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't
So listen up Buster, and listen up well
Tell hoplophobe Cary to go straight to hell

Oh, and while you're at it, stop being such a nihilistic emo wuss. You come off like the Goth kids on South Park.

* With apologies to John Prine

[Via Dan Gifford]

I Use My Hands to...

...murder an animal companion.

The Brady Campaign/God Not Guns/Enuretics United coalition issued a "Hands Without Guns" coloring book a while back because it's something smug liberals think is relevant for turning their children into good little herd animals.

One thing I always get amusement out of is when the Stupid Left turns on itself--and I try to encourage that from time to time. For instance, when Levi Strauss supported citizen disarmament a few years back, I emailed People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, complaining about the tag the company put on the back of their jeans, which, while politically acceptable enough to be imitation leather, still depicted a cruel scene of capitalist exploitation via whip-driven animal slavery.

Well, I, for one, can't sit still while the thoughtless religious zealot specists at the Brady/God Alliance endorse the sport murder of beings that "are smart, interesting animals with their own unique personalities—just like the dogs and cats we share our homes with."

That assertion comes from our friends at PETA, who even have their own comic book to prove it, and hopefully deflect some of the ichthyocidal violence initiated by a cult group of superstitious fanatics. I mean, it's bad enough that Jesus fed the multitudes with the flesh of these gentle souls.

Join me in asking PETA to demand the retraction of "Hands Without Guns" until the hideously offensive depiction of a child...a child, for Dagon's sake...stalking what should be finny friends, with premeditated and horribly agonizing murder in her heart, is deleted.

And while we're at it, let's not forget the impaled worm and the exploited goat hostage...

We're the Only Ones Triangulated Enough

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued the suspension order in the wake of charges Aruajo shot her husband March 10 over a reputed love triangle, and threatened a niece of Mayor Roger Stapp in an unrelated incident March 8 in which she allegedly threatened the niece during a phone conversation that she could “put her away” and had the power “to do anything she wanted” as JP.
More torrid drama in an ongoing soap opera I may start calling "Only One Life to Live."

The Single Biggest Problem

"We know what happens in Dade County will affect what happens in Broward County," Jenne said. "The single biggest problem in South Florida is the rise in the use of AKs."
Actually, it sounds like the single biggest problem is Dade County has a liar for a sheriff when it comes to talking to the media about militia-suitable arms.

But I guess blaming a class of weapons he'd like to see you and me criminalized for owning is easier than tackling the real issues, plus it guarantees an enthusiastic cheerleading squad and plenty of free publicity from the "authorized journalists."

[Via Nathan F]

We're the Only Ones Getting Into a Hummer Enough

A former Manhattan Beach police sergeant has been found guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Las Vegas...

Shelton pulled up, displayed a badge and told him he was a police officer. He persuaded the boy to get into his Hummer.

The boy told jurors that Shelton said he was investigating a homicide, handcuffed him, drove him into the desert and forced him to perform oral sex in the back seat...

This is one illustration of the danger of indoctrinating children to always listen to "The Only Ones." But I guess it's a Catch-22, because if they don't, the same thing could happen to them in the slammer, assuming they survive the encounter.

From the People Who Gave Us Christian Trejbal...

...Meet Tommy Denton.
Quixotic as it may be right now, I propose that we begin thinking about invoking the Constitution's Article V and repeal the Second Amendment.
Right, Tommy.

But I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the prescience of the Founders. They anticipated a threat to Liberty from within as well as without. The Second Amendment was designed to deal with both.

This Day in History: April 16

The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, taking place on August 16, 1777, not at its namesake of Bennington, Vermont, but instead a few miles over the border in Walloomsac, New York. An American force of 2,000 New Hampshire and Massachusetts militiamen, led by General John Stark with aid from Colonel Seth Warner, defeated a combined force of 1,250 Brunswick mercenaries, Canadians, Loyalists, and Native Americans led by Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum.