You bring up a great point. I will support the MO legislature allowing concealed guns on our campus when they allow concealed guns in the capitol building.

If it is so great to have armed civilians just in case, then why NOT in the MO State Capitol? Why don't they make a law to allow guns in the legislature chambers?

Once they put up, I'll shut up in my opposition!

Why are guns good on a college campus but bad in a state capitol building?

They allow legislators to carry concealed in the capitol. Why not staff at the university?

I agree with you that what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, but one step at a time. Several states, like Virginia, allow carry in the capitol and at city council meetings, etc. I'd like that to get added to the MO law eventually too, but the practicality of the situation is this: there are more people at risk at universities than at the capitol. That and there is armed security at the capitol - there is none at the university. If there was to be a shooting at the capitol, there would be an armed response there within 10 seconds. If there was a shooting on campus, the police may not show up for 10 minutes, and they may wait outside (like campus police at every shooting have done) until the mass-murdering psychopath is out of ammo, bored, or shoots himself.

Anyone know more about that story, or where it supposedly happened? Sounds very familiar for some reason...

It was Delta-Tau-Delta last year. A .22LR bullet shattered the outer pane of a double-pane glass window, but didn't have enough energy to break the next window. There were people in the room, but they didn't realize the window was broken by a bullet until the police showed up. But like you said, it was probably from a very long ways away.

If we're going to go one step at a time, then the MO legislature should start at their own house.

The same people who are paranoid of being in a mass murder situation to the point of carrying a gun to protect themselves are the same people who are paranoid that the government is listening to their calls and that the aliens put a probe in their ass. Frankly, those are the same people most likely to snap. Perhaps he failed a class, and he blames the other students for conspiring against him by lowering the curve in the class.

The other thing is what happens when Mr Do Gooder Six Shooter accidentally injures/kills an innocent student while trying to shoot the assailant. Yes, it's kind of hyperbolic to assume that would happen, as it is to assume that a MO campus will have a VA Tech style shooting.

Do you know why we remember specific incidents like VA Tech and Columbine... it's because this stuff is extremely rare. Columbine happened in 1999!!! But say the name and everyone instantly knows what you're talking about.

Please don't make large generalizations about people. I don't believe conspiracy theorist ideas about aliens and the government, but I 100% approve of having C&C on campuses. And with the good Samaritan accidentally hitting a bystander, they aren't going to start handing guns out to students and check in. They have to go through countless background checks and also have to show that they are able to effectively handle their firearm. Also, school campus shootings have definitely been getting more frequent lately, especially in the US. There have been many shootings besides just Columbine and Virginia Tech. A 5 second Google search reveals a list of school shootings that show at least 15 shootings that resulted in multiple deaths during classes. Columbine and Virginia Tech were just much much more publicized. I agree with Prophet about the capital building as well. They have armed guards there all the time. School campuses don't. The do have a University police force, but campuses are too large and spread out to keep multiple guards in each building. Students are there already and if something happens, It would be best to end it ASAP before the shooter has a chance to injure and kill more people.

Is it safe to say that most of these people who cause these mass murders are NOT your gang banger, crack dealer, 7-11 robber type person? These are people who LEGALLY buy these guns. These are people who weren't criminals at the time, and therefore can pass the background check. And then they snapped! The people who do this aren't the same people who are going to mug you, carjack you, or steal your 52" TV. Saying that 'the criminals don't care about a law and will carry the guns to school anyways' is a fallacious argument.

And yes, if you are so paranoid that you have to arm yourself before you go to class 'just in case' everyday, you may not believe in aliens but you might as well have that tinfoil hat on. If you feel the need to be packing whenever you are in public, you know, 'just in case' then yes, one must question your sanity. No one can live like that without losing it. And then when the person loses it, guess who has the gun!! (PS I do not mean you personally, so don't take it as such, you= some person)

100% of gun deaths result from someone having a gun. Fact

Koopa, you've been attacked! by the attack! rat!!!!!!11!1!1oneoneone11!11eleven

I used to think this also. It's not hard to see why when TV labels everyone that carries a gun as "evil" and "paranoid". When the news will cover every shooting they can while skipping over stories about how little old ladies with permits stopped a robbery without a shot fired, it's not that hard either. Then I met some people that carry a gun and you what? They were very friendly, normal people that didn't think aliens were coming. I found this somewhere. It might explain why people carry guns.




Of course the alternative is for the assailant to just kill everyone in the room, which is a much better outcome.


There are more crimes in the world than just school shootings and maybe those who carry are worried more about something bad happening on the walk home late at night than school shootings.[/quote]



Because the media covers this stuff like butter on bread. Say Columbine, everyone remembers. Say VT, everyone remembers. Say Appalachian Law School, everyone looks at you with a puzzled look because this story wasn't on the news. The shooter killed 3 people but was stopped by 2 students who held him at gunpoint until the police arrived.


Did you know that most stabbings happened with legally obtained knives and that there are more stabbings than shootings? Perhaps you should look into banning knives instead of guns. Someone might make the assumption that completely removing guns from citizens would stop shootings and that is true. They did just that in England and shootings dropped. Of course stabbings and other crime went up more than enough to make up for it and violent crime in general has jumped dramatically but at least shootings are down. yay.


Because it's besides the point that there is nothing stopping someone who doesn't follow the law (by definition a criminal) from bringing a weapon to school while the rest of us who do follow the law are prevented from doing so, giving a clear advantage to the criminal.


If you feel the need to put on your seatbelt 'just is case' you might be paranoid too because I've never been in a car accident and the last mass car pile up was something like 10 years ago. With all that buckling up, someone is bound to lose it and just snap and drive their car into a group of innocent bystanders. Seriously, people that carry guns aren't paranoid. They are normal, everyday people. If you think they are paranoid, please go on a ride-along with the Rolla police, especially Friday and Saturday nights for best results.

Ever carry your cell phone on a drive just in case?

There is a difference between being prepared and being paranoid. You just can't see that. It doesnt take more than a few crime statistics to tell me that the threat does exist and I should be prepared.

Agentzak, I don't think anyone could have responded better than that. That quote is probably the best description of why people want to C&C. Thank you.

O and benm, stfu plz.

100% of deaths occur to people that are alive. Maybe there is a solution....

I know there are a few dead people I'd like to kill.

Just a question to those that've gone through the licensing process-

How much of the class is focused on handling these high tension settings that are being talked about? It's more than just a 'here are the laws, don't screw things up' and then 'here's how you properly handle your firearm, hit this target for me' type of thing, right? I haven't really heard much about the class but am interested

The class required by MO law covers MO law on when/where you can carry, when the use of force in self-defense is justified, etc., as well as a safe handling and marksmanship portion. There are "minimum legal" classes available for about $75. The type of people who take this class are people uninterested in guns or self-defense who got scared enough to take action, but are unlikely to ever carry the gun.

Most classes cost around $100-120 and cover more material, including how to handle high tension situations. My instructor said "if you have time to think about whether shooting someone is justified, it probably isn't." A good instructor will include instruction on what happens to the human body and mind in a life-or-death situation, and how to handle that, as well as a discussion on mindset. Your mindset determines how you will react - if you've already made up your mind that your life is valuable and worth protecting, and you will kill anyone who tries to kill you, and you deal with the emotions that come with that before the event happens, you're more likely to act without hesitation when the time comes.

This is instruction that might potentially save your life. Don't skimp the $20, and don't limit yourself geographically - there are trainers in Rolla, there are world-class instructors in Columbia, Springfield, and St. Louis.