NOTE: While "The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of CNN" CNN has been entertaining semi-pro-gun ideas lately. This seems to be a result of recent liberals becoming pro 2nd amendment. As Uncle says, we're winning.
Looks a lot like a Springfield mil-spec. Looks like Nick and I share a preference in carry firearms.
Nick says his gun doesn't make him feel immune from attack. "But I feel that I will be able to protect myself, and I'm confident in my training and my ability," he said.
And that's what it's really about. It's about improving your odds. Nick has the right to defend himself, if he defends himself and saves lives in the process, that's great; but at it's core, it's about Nick and his right to self-defense.
His confidence is not shared by fellow student Griselda Espinoza, who recently transferred to the university. Some 28,000 students attend the school, as of the latest enrollment figures.
"I feel less safe knowing that a stranger sitting beside me in class may have a gun in his or her backpack," she said.
"The only people that should carry guns are trained officials."
If she lives in Utah, it's extremely likely that she encounters people carrying firearms every day, and doesn't know it. While that fact might make her feel unsafe, it has not made her unsafe. She is entitled to fear anyone who carries a gun just, but I'd ask that she do some research on the facts (not the speculation) surrounding the approval of CCW laws.
However, she [Amanda Covington, Utah State Board of Regents spokeswoman] said the regents are opposing a legislative proposal to allow people with concealed weapons permits to have the weapons visible in public.
"We are worried that it may affect their [students' and teachers'] willingness or desire to go to or teach a class on campus," she said.
Open carry is quite different from concealed carry, but the results are the same. If you want to shoot as many people as possible, before turning the gun on yourself, are you more or less likely to choose a place where 1 in 10 people openly carries a firearm? But that's just a pragmatic perspective, from a social perspective, it's a little different. Most people DO feel a little strange about seeing non-threatening people carrying guns. There is only one thing that can be done about this; practice. It will be awkward at first, but when people experience open carry, and their fears go unrealized, they'll wonder why they ever felt the way they did. Many states approve open carry and concealed carry laws to choruses of dire warnings, only to experience either no change in crime, or (more commonly) a decrease in crime.
[Utah State Representative Curtis Oda] stressed that people with permits have gone through rigorous checks.
"When you see someone with a gun, you are looking at some of the most law-abiding people in the state," he said.
This is true with few exceptions. You won't hear opposition argue this point because it's undisputed. Opposition will instead argue that once armed, previously law-abiding citizens will be transformed into dangerous vigilantes, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. Yet once the firearm is removed, these crazy people revert back to regular, law-abiding citizens just like everyone else. This straw man argument is very frequently used, despite the preponderance of evidence that disproves this theory, and in some cases, proves the opposite.
"If acts of terrorism continue on campus, then I will have no choice but to carry a concealed weapon," he said.
"But you see, that is where the problem lies: Everybody will end up carrying concealed weapons, and everyday problems will be solved with guns rather than words or even fists."
39 states in the US concealed carry permits are issued to any law-abiding citizen. The idea that arguments over how much change someone got back from Starbucks will turn into a shootout have been thoroughly disproven.
UPDATE: Looks like Marko's weighing in on the word choice of the title of this article. Concealed vs Hidden. I suppose he has a point.
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