On Monday morning a tragedy fell on the community of Oakland, Calif., where 10 students at Oikos University were shot by a criminal gunman. The gunman took the lives of seven students as recent reports state.

This tragic event, one of the worst mass shootings in the history of the state, took place on the first day of the Students for Concealed Carry’s annual Empty Holster Protest. This protest, that takes place during the first week of April, is a nationwide event that spans more than 60 campuses, including campuses in Arizona. The protest involves students wearing empty firearms holsters on campus to protest the discrepancy on gun laws on and off college campuses. They state that current “gun-free zones” do nothing but take firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, making them defenseless targets for criminals. Students for Concealed Carry members advocate for allowing concealed handgun license holders to carry concealed on public university and college campuses.

“This (tragedy) is a poignant and ironic example of the very thing we’re protesting,” said David Burnett, the organization’s spokesman. “Colleges invite these shootings by guaranteeing criminals their victims will be disarmed. It takes more than signs to fend off killers.”

Over 20 such college shootings have occurred on so-called “gun-free” campuses since 2001. At the same time, more than 200 campuses in six states allow students to carry handguns to class, and have done so for years without incident. Arizona was presented with a bill this year, SB 1474, which would have allowed campus carry with a concealed weapons permit however unfortunately the bill failed to make it out of the Senate.

This protest is meant to signify that people need the option to protect themselves on campuses just as they have that option throughout the majority of the rest of the state of Arizona. Last week on the University of Arizona campus several students were robbed and assaulted, leading to a student being hospitalized. The protest stresses that campuses cannot guarantee students’ safety while on campus. It is time to give students the option to protect themselves.

— Coty McKenzie,
Arizona state director of Students for Concealed Carry

In response to April 4 column, “Pet’s death deserves equal grief to family member’s death”:

Regarding your article in the April 4th 2012 Wildcat. I totally agree with you in this subject. The short of the story is I would rather be around my pets and horses than I would around most people. I too have felt the loss of a great friend and lifelong companion. With that said I would protect my horses and pets as I would my family members.

Between my wife and I we have several dogs and a couple of horses. The fact is your children leave you and start their own lives, where as my pets would never willingly leave us. Guess they know where the free stuff is.

— Richard Corral,
project manager for Renovation Services, Facilities Management