The Boston Globe is owned by the New York Times, and is well known for its slanted articles and left-leaning politics. And yet I read this.
To those with an emotional bias against guns, it goes without saying that more guns in private hands invariably mean more crime and violence. If the number of people carrying firearms on campus rises, then of course that campus is less safe. What could be more obvious?
But it isn’t obvious at all.
While the University of Colorado spent much of the past decade resisting the state’s concealed-carry law, Colorado State University complied with it. If the gun controllers are right, Colorado State should have seen a surge in crime, while its gun-banning sister institution should have been an Eden of security and lawfulness. That’s not what happened. As Clayton E. Cramer and David Burnett write in a new monograph for the Cato Institute, “crime at the University of Colorado has risen 35 percent since 2004, while crime at Colorado State University has dropped 60 percent in the same time frame.’’…How often firearms are used defensively is a much-debated question in American criminology. Respected studies over the years have come up with estimates that range widely, from nearly 110,000 defensive gun uses annually to as many as 2.5 million. Whatever the precise number is, it clearly isn’t trivial. An enormous amount of death, bloodshed, and suffering is prevented in this country by ordinary citizens with firearms….Of course, most defensive gun uses never make the news at all. As Cramer and Burnett observe, “Man Scares Away Burglar, No Shots Fired,’’ is not a very compelling headline.
But with or without headlines, millions of Americans grasp instinctively that guns make us safer. For when honest citizens carry weapons, criminals are less likely to attack — and those who do are more likely to fail.
Those are just excerpts, go read the whole thing. Antis, you’ve lost the globe, you’ve lost the war!
That sound you hear?
Yeah…its the sound of the sweet, sweet screams of the anti’s …..
aaaahhhh….good times.
I work on a private college campus now, and have been working in Higher Ed (public and private) for about 15 years now. Virginia tried to get a couple of carry laws related to public colleges passed this last legislative session and both failed. The one allowing students to carry concealed went down quickly, but the one allowing faculty/staff to carry concealed went down much harder and has a better chance of being resurrected next session.
As you can imagine, college campuses are generally more liberal and its funny when I mention my support of concealed carry on the campus here. I get some wacky looks. We are currently not allowed to have weapons on the campus. My campus is a small Catholic based college in Northern Virginia. Am I really worried about crime here? No but I run an office that gives students tons of bad news (you cannot graduate, you are expelled for cheating etc), and is surrounded by other offices that give tons of bad news (you owe us money, and no you cannot have financial aid). I would feel safer if I were able to have at least a baseball bat in my office! We have a new president that I am trying to convince to allow concealed carry on the campus.
So…where I am going is kudos to Colorado State!
Do you open mail? You might want a nice letter opener? Or maybe a nice pocket knife like the Ka-bar TDI.
There are some decent force multipliers that fly under the “Weapon” radar.
I have been told a pocket knife may be considered a weapon…..Zero Tolerance Baby!
You get to kick out students who cheat? Wow. I’m told that such a policy would be poor customer service. But know that I’m with you on the question of concealed carry on campus. I have the approval of the government off campus, but somehow, I’m going to become a different person when I cross the property line? If only magical thinking could be restricted to Hogwarts.
Why is it I have no fear they will be back to their gun hating ways first chance they have. The Globe is loosing readers faster than it can count so they will do anything to get someone to read them. . .
Keep in mind that Jacoby is the Globe’s pet conservative, trotted out periodically to get the readership all riled up…a Two Minute Hate of sorts. I doubt his opinions reflect that of pretty much anyone else at the Globe.
Regardless, he’s right.