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Allow legal owners to carry firearms on campus
To the Editor:
After reading the article "UB taking a look at security issues" in the May 3 issue of the Reporter, I see that nowhere is the issue of legally possessed firearms discussed.
There are many people on campus who possess valid, legal New York
State pistol permits, myself included.
For those who do not know, obtaining a pistol permit involves an extensive safety-training course, a complete New York State and FBI background check, four personal character references and a squeaky-clean record.
Yet, state law forbids the carrying of any weapons on campus. We are an unarmed, "gun-free victim zone."
As distasteful as this idea may be to some, everyone knows deep in their own hearts that if even one of the students at Virginia Tech was carrying his or her legal weapon, the death toll of 32 could have been much smaller.
Allowing concealed carry on campus would not create a "wild west" environment.
Everyone on campus who owns a firearm chooses to obey the law and not carry on campus.
A criminal bent on murder will not obey the law, as the Virginia Tech shootings so sadly and clearly demonstrated.
Contrary to the picture painted by the media, gun owners are not sitting around "itching" to "pop" someone. As a gun owner myself, I pray to God that I never, ever have to use my weapons for anything other than target shooting and recreation.
If legal gun owners were allowed to carry on campus, some of them would carry, some of them may choose not to. But none of them would use their weapons to hurt someone else.
If they wanted to, they would have already done it. Read that again: If they wanted to, they would have already done it.
Our public safety officers are armed. Are we afraid of them?
"They are trained," you say? Yes, they are, but who is more competent handling a firearm: a police officer who qualifies with his issue pistol once or twice a year, or a sportsman who goes target shooting every sunny weekend?
I hope that the administration of UB, as well as the New York State lawmakers, consider the true problem very carefully before putting into place worthless, "feel-safe" measures like text messaging, email and telephones.
If someone starts shooting in our gun-free victims zone and nobody is allowed the God-given right to self-defense, I truly worry about the torrent of lawsuits that would follow, as well as the future of the university as a viable business.
Sincerely,
Roger A. Krupski
Lab Equipment Designer
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences