Dear Editor:
I don’t own a gun, and it is likely that I never will. I happen to think they are dangerous and I would not feel comfortable having one in my house. But I am tired of the impotent political pandering that has gone on among politicians recently on the topic of gun control. And now, college students are echoing their ravings.
A front-page article on the July 21 edition of The Universe said that student representatives are lobbying to have concealed weapons banned from college campuses. Why?
As I understand it, to obtain a concealed weapons permit, a person must go through a rigorous background check and attend some kind of gun safety class. Are these the people that we want to protect ourselves from? If this law had been passed nation-wide 10 years ago, would any of the recent gun-related tragedies have been avoided? Is there even one life that would have been saved? The article said that in the last three years there were 40 arrests on the U of U campus for gun possession. Were any of these people concealed gun permit carriers? There is a serious gun control problem in this country that needs to be addressed by citizens and government officials alike. But holding an emergency session of the Utah legislature to ban law-abiding citizens from responsibly carrying a concealed weapon around on school campuses misses the issue completely. In fact, it may make it worse. Now, instead of addressing the real problem, one that would be difficult to face and would surely anger many constituents regardless of the outcome, the Utah legislature — with the backing of petition-wielding student representatives — will be able to pat themselves on the back for all the good that they have done for the country.
Ryan Hamilton
