What University of Texas Campus Is Saying About Concealed Guns

[SecularMotion]

AUSTIN, Tex. — As classes began here at the University of Texas this past week amid a new law allowing concealed handguns on college campuses in the state, an accounting student quietly strapped on a pistol and headed to class.

A pre-med sophomore joined a raucous protest against the law.

A professor who had sued to stop the law resigned herself to teaching with handguns in the classroom.

And the college president sought out ways to safeguard the campus culture that he cherished while accommodating a law that he did not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/us/university-of-texas-campus-concealed-guns.html

[anamandujano]

4. and students to drop out. Hopefully they can get their money back.

[scscholar]

26. But really, how many students are pro-gun? They're usually anti-education (ntxt)

[LanternWaste]

83. Another typically unsourced allegation.

Another typically unsourced allegation.

[Warpy]

65. Probably not but I'd keep my grades up as far as I could

in the hope I could transfer out of state in January.

This open carry bullshit has gone way too far, even for Texas.

[Duckhunter935]

76. Of course it is not open carry

Only people over 21 that pass the required background checks, pay the large fees and have training, and have the permit would be allowed to concealed carry a weapon. Please just get the facts right, it's not that hard.

[anamandujano]

80. and no one ever gets shot in a school

[Duckhunter935]

89. Some people break laws

And even before this law was passed, laws were broken

[anamandujano]

82. Not a bad idea assuming you could make it to January.

[jmg257]

85. Remember - Duck and Cover

[hunter]

30. Why should they give up their jobs? Why should students drop out?

If anyone should go, it's the fuckwits carrying guns.

Mocking fuckwits with dildos, mocking them without dildos, it's all good.

Maybe they'll go away and establish their own university of gunfuckery.

[friendly_iconoclast]

32. If they've bought into this moral panic, they should have the courage of their convictions and leave

Spluttering outrage and recycled dick jokes aside, can you show where the practice has
caused harm elsewhere?

If you can't, then this whole bruhaha is no different (save for position on the political spectrum)
than Don The Con And His Trumpkins screeds against Muslims and Mexicans.

[hunter]

46. Anybody who carries a gun for "self defense" has made up their minds they could shoot someone.

Moral panic?

My ass. Who would Jesus shoot?

Piss on guns.

[jmg257]

48. WWJD?? Who cares...Jesus could come back to life after 3 days. Everyone else isn't so blessed.

Self-defense is the epitome of justification.

[hunter]

53. Maybe I wasn't talking about that Jesus...

... and it wouldn't change my opinion anyways.

There really isn't any difference between a fourteen year old gangster with a gun and someone who'd carry a gun in college.

They both think there are people who deserve to be shot.

[jmg257]

54. Ha - good one!

Big difference would be how they choose to use that gun...

murder? self-defense?

Quite a difference. Morally, legally, etc.

[hunter]

78. No, there's not.

In my personal experience once the guns come out everything is FUBAR.

Personally, I can't think of anyone I'd care to shoot.

Why would I let imaginary "bad guys" live in my head?

[jmg257]

79. Sure there is. So we'll disagree on that and chalk it up to experience.

But I'm with you on not having anyone I'd care to shoot, either. Real or imaginary.

And agree - you definitely do not want them in your head!

[hunter]

88. You've got that right. People who think concealed or open-carry weapons might be usefull...

... have NO experience, many cops included.

They think life is a fucking Hollywood action movie and that someday they'll be playing the roll of "good guy," in slow motion even.

Or they think some "bad guy" will be intimidated by their gun. Hint: the worst of the bad guys don't give a shit if you are holding a gun or not. For the rest, you don't need a gun.

I have a couple of amusing (or maybe terrifying) gun stories I tell here on DU, but I keep the brains-on-the-carpet sort to myself.

[jmg257]

91. Yep - all the training and preparation and gear and mindset can only take ya so far.

Assuming you are even doing all that.


It does work out for some, not so much for others.

[jmg257]

39. Better then they all just stay put. Don't think open carrying dildos will make much of an impact.

Though it is pretty funny!

[KamaAina]

2. What My Degreed Sexologist Friend Is Saying About Concealed Guns On The University of Texas Campus

"Cocks not Glocks!"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/university-of-texas-carry-dildos-instead-of-guns_us_57bf0342e4b085c1ff27fa3b

To protest a new state law that makes the carrying of concealed handguns legal in college classrooms, students at the University of Texas on Wednesday openly displayed sex toys, an act considered illegal under local indecency laws.

“We are fighting absurdity with absurdity,” said Jessica Jin, leader of the protest called “Cocks Not Glocks: Campus (Dildo) Carry,” where hundreds of sex toys were given away at the rally on Wednesday that coincided with a return to classes at university’s flagship campus.

“Texas has decided it is not all obnoxious or illegal to allow deadly concealed weapons on campus. But walking around with a dildo could land you in trouble,” Jin said.

On Aug. 1, a so-called “campus carry” law backed by the state’s Republican political leaders went into effect that allows concealed handgun license holders aged 21 and older to bring handguns into classrooms and other university facilities.

So help me, until this minute, I thought she'd made the phrase up!

[rurallib]

3. Employee unions should negotiate for battlefield protective equipment

Parents should outfit there student children accordingly also.

[michreject]

6. They will be easily replaced

by those jumping at the chance to be part of a major university program.

[smirkymonkey]

7. Of course they will be of lower quality.

I can't imagine that any decent academic would put up with this shit. Race to the bottom in Texas.

[TipTok]

9. It's adorable you think that...

Gun rights are doing so well because the controller crowd regularly underestimates the 2nd Amendment crowd and assumes them to be slack-jawed idiots who could never intellectually compete with the enlightened minds they face.

Please keep it up...

[mountain grammy]

10. No, "gun rights are doing so well"

because elected representatives are paid by the NRA to assure just that. My senator, in his short career as an elected congress critter has received over $3 million to assure "gun rights are doing so well."
The slack jawed idiots are just that, slack jawed idiots, like my stupid nephew who got drunk and forgot he had a gun in his pocket and shot himself, luckily not fatally and luckily only his own sorry slack jawed self. Most gun nuts I've encountered are slack jawed idiots, but the NRA has the $$$$ and that's what's buying our legislators. The slack jawed idiots spend all their $$$ on guns.

[TipTok]

11. Like I said....

Keep it up...

[mountain grammy]

13. Just so we know you're ok with the bribery of elected representatives.

keep it up because it's working so well.

[TipTok]

16. That's not an NRA specific issue...

... or do you just want them excluded because you don't like them?

[mountain grammy]

17. and you like them?

no, they are destructive and idiotic. I don't like them.

[TipTok]

18. I think there are many ethical issues that come with lobbying...

... but it isn't an NRA exclusive issue.

Many groups, throughout the political spectrum, flood politicians with money several orders of magnitude higher than the piddly few million that gun rights groups do.

It isn't about the money, it's about the voters who put politicians in power and the certain knowledge that if those politicians give in to the control crowd they will not have the same job next election.

[jmg257]

12. Wow - where the heck are you from where people are of such low intelligence?

[mountain grammy]

14. Texas.

[jmg257]

25. Ugh - gunners around here seem smarter then those you describe...doctors, nurses, engineers,

mechanics & technical folk, etc.

Maybe because most aren't "nuts", maybe that's the diff.

[mountain grammy]

33. What's your definition of "gunners?"

just curious. I own two pistols.. am I a gunner?

[jmg257]

36. Yep - generally people who own guns. nt

[beevul]

20. Thats the popular myth.

Of course, those who parrot it, never quite explain how gun rights (and the nra) still win when outspent by Bloomberg 5 to 1:

DENVER -- Democratic voters in Colorado helped remove two state senators of their own party who voted for tighter gun control — an ouster that was both intensely local and a national test of what can happen to lawmakers who support gun restrictions in battleground states.

The well-organized activists who sought to recall Senate President John Morse and Sen. Angela Giron got the backing of gun-rights groups such as the National Rifle Association. It turned out they didn't need much assistance because voters were already so incensed by passage of the gun-control package.


Outspent by about 5-to-1, recall supporters cited a big anti-recall donation from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make one of their main points — that Democrats controlling the state Legislature were more interested in listening to the White House and outside interests than their own constituents.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/11/3619764/2-colo-lawmakers-ousted-in-gun.html#storylink=cpyhttp://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/11/3619764/2-colo-lawmakers-ousted-in-gun.html

[mountain grammy]

21. Your link didn't work

but I live in Colorado. There's plenty more to that story, and the gun restrictions have remained in place. Horrors that the people of Colorado should attempt to stop the madness of military style weapons and ammunition.. just horrors!

[beevul]

43. You're ignoring the point.

The nra was outspend by over 5 to 1.

Colo. recalls show risk of supporting gun control



Originally published September 11, 2013 at 3:05 pm | Updated September 11, 2013 at 5:31 pm


Democratic voters in Colorado helped remove two state senators of their own party who voted for tighter gun control - an ouster that was both intensely local and a national test of what can happen to lawmakers who support gun restrictions in battleground states.

Outspent by about 5-to-1, recall supporters cited a big anti-recall donation from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make one of their main points – that Democrats controlling the state Legislature were more interested in listening to the White House and outside interests than their own constituents.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/colo-recalls-show-risk-of-supporting-gun-control/

The point was, you said "No, "gun rights are doing so well" because elected representatives are paid by the NRA to assure just that."

Your statement doesn't exactly square with reality, when we look at those recalls.

[mountain grammy]

66. The new laws are still on the books.

[beevul]

70. Did someone say they weren't? N/T

[mountain grammy]

71. Both recalled senators were not sorry about their votes

Many reps who voted for civil rights legislation lost their seats in the next election but they did the right thing as did the colorado legislators. Guns must be restricted. They are deadly.

[beevul]

72. None of which supports your claim. N/T

[friendly_iconoclast]

95. Are they sorry that the GOP now controls the CO Senate as a consequence?

For that matter, are you?

[mountain grammy]

100. Of course I am.. but they voted their conscience..

Morse is a former police chief who believes strongly in gun control . This recall didn't change who controlled the Senate.. that happened in the 2014 election. Bottom line, both did the right thing, the laws are on the books and it's a step in the right direction.

[friendly_iconoclast]

101. The 2014 election was directly affected by the recall:

http://www.denverpost.com/election2014/ci_26898316/gop-win-colorado-senate-democrats-vow-hold-party

GOP win Colorado Senate, Democrats vow to hold party accountable

Republicans are officially in charge of the Colorado Senate, ending a decade-long drought where they painfully watched Democrats win the majority in five straight elections...

...Gun activists then attempted to mount a recall against Sen. Evie Hudak of Jefferson County but before they turned in signatures to force an election she resigned her seat to ensure the Senate stayed in Democrat hands. A vacancy committee elected Arvada City Councilwoman Rachel Zenzinger to Hudak's seat.

In Tuesday's election, Herpin lost to Democrat Michael Merrifield and Rivera lost to Democrat Leroy Garcia, which came as no surprise to either party considering the voter registration makeup in both districts.

But Zenzinger lost to Republican Laura Woods, backed by the strident gun group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. Hudak had won re-election in 2012 so her seat wasn't even supposed to be on the ballot in 2014.

[mountain grammy]

106. I just found this quote and thought it relevant to this thread.

"On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' And Vanity comes along and asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But Conscience asks the question 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right." - MLK

[friendly_iconoclast]

109. It is vanity to believe that one issue is more important than the entirety of D/democratic issues

[mountain grammy]

112. I'd say it's pretty important to people who've lost loved ones

to gun violence with weapons meant for war. Maybe ask a Sandy Hook parent if it's an important issue.

[friendly_iconoclast]

115. In your own words, is it important enough to warrant ceding control to Republicans?

[mountain grammy]

116. You could ask the same thing about the Civil Rights Act

and the answer to both is yes. The laws got on the books and have stayed there.

[friendly_iconoclast]

118. The rest of the CO state Democratic platform was sacrificed for gun control

Was it worth it? I doubt it.

[beevul]

121. "Weapons meant for war". Puhleeze.

Civilian legal semi-automatic weapons are designed specifically for the civilian market in America.

No army in the world issues them to soldiers.

[mountain grammy]

124. Puhleeze. Tell that to the Sandy Hook parents

Or Orlando families..

[beevul]

126. What I said was factual. What you said wasn't.

Invoking the sandy hook parents doesn't change that, nor does it give your arguments validity.

Speaking of Orlando:

Gwendolyn Patton, First Speaker of the Pink Pistols, an international GLBT self-defense organization, warns people not to jump immediately to the assailant’s guns as the object of blame, but to concentrate instead on Mateen’s violent acts. “The Pink Pistols gives condolences to all family and friends of those killed and injured at Pulse,” began Patton. “This is exactly the kind of heinous act that justifies our existence. At such a time of tragedy, let us not reach for the low-hanging fruit of blaming the killer’s guns. Let us stay focused on the fact that someone hated gay people so much they were ready to kill or injure so many. A human being did this. The human being’s tools are unimportant when compared to the bleakness of that person’s soul. I say again, GUNS did not do this. A human being did this, a dead human being. Our job now is not to demonize the man’s tools, but to condemn his acts and work to prevent such acts in the future.”

http://www.pinkpistols.org/2016/06/12/pink-pistols-saddened-by-attack-on-orlando-club/

[mountain grammy]

131. and he could legally buy the most lethal weapons possible..

wow, how wonderful for you and the pink pistols... I'm so happy for you

[beevul]

133. And you guys blame the nra for your lack of progress on gun control?

Try looking in the mirror.

Your arguments are that poor.

[friendly_iconoclast]

128. In your own words, should they be given as much attention as Trump's 'Angel Moms'? Less?

[mountain grammy]

130. you know, it's just ridiculous to argue about this

all Colorado did was pass some common sense background check laws and limit magazine size... you gun nuts can still buy your guns and shoot yourselves silly.. I'm proud of the Colorado lawmakers and the laws are still on the books..

[friendly_iconoclast]

132. It's ridiculous to expect your arguments won't be met with counterarguments..

...or awkward questions. Also, claims to "common sense" are merely another form
of Colonism:

"Sergeant Colon had had a broad education. He'd been to the School of My Dad Always Said, the College of It Stands to Reason, and was now a post-graduate student at the University of What Some Bloke In the Pub Told Me."

Terry Pratchett, Jingo

[mountain grammy]

135. The laws are still on the books..

[friendly_iconoclast]

136. And the GOP still runs the Colorado Senate...

[kcr]

137. Indeed they are.

The fact that voters punished them for it doesn't change that fact. The voters are only punishing themselves. It isn't an argument against gun control. I applaud your patience in arguing against gunner logic

[mountain grammy]

138. Thanks, I needed that!

but I'm not so patient, I blocked them both. First time I've ever done that. My blood pressure can't handle it. When dozens of humans beings are mowed down in minutes by one weapon, that, to me, is a weapon of war. What other purpose does it have?

[paleotn]

57. adorable and true...

...in addition to slack-jawed idiots, the poster left out frightened little people in desperate need of therapy.

[Eleanors38]

34. heh. My prediction:: The faculty and student body will stay intact. Perhaps you can help...

Since 20+% of gun -owners are women (up to 20,000,000), what kind of symbolic back pack adornment would sufficiently represent them?

The tail piece of an old Fess Parker 'coon skin cap?

Your daddy's toupee?

A patch of shag carpeting (if you can find the stuff any longer)?

A photo-shopped depiction of an astronomical black hole, surrounded by Saturn's huge surface storm?

A sock-stuffed pair of panties?

Surely, folks at U.T. (maybe even here) can... rise to the ocassion and go beyond the sex-shop-worn cliches and foster equal treatment. And old da-daist group here in Austin was criticized for depicting a dancing, 6-foot long penis in one of its acts. So they got smart, and the next show starred a 6-foot high dancing vagina, esconced in a veritable forest of moss (pilfered from Shoal Creek, no doubt). All was quiet thereafter.

[smirkymonkey]

44. WTF?

are you talking about? Seriously, just wtf?

[Eleanors38]

45. Smirky, use some imagination to describe the, oh, 20 million female gun owners.

It won't hurt. Give it a shot. Irony ain't dead.

[longship]

75. There are only so many Steven Weinbergs.

Actually, there's just one. He teaches at UT Austin, and has since just after he won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1979.

He is one of their jewels in their crown. I am surprised that he hasn't said anything about this publically.

[SecularMotion]

15. Comments from NY Times Reader's Picks

W Houston, TX 20 hours ago

Professor Moore said it all. You don't take your gun into town, and the law violates the first part of the second amendment. The Texas legislature represents a diversity of locations and interests, most of them rural. Passing this law was a political ploy to satiate their far-right base and the NRA. These legislators are the same people who wail when their local control is usurped by the Feds, but it's apparently OK to force ranch culture down the throats of city dwellers. There was no need for this law, or the extra money that the taxpayers need to fork over to pay for all the stupid implementations of it. If they like guns so much, let guns into the Texas Capitol building when the legislature is in session.

njglea is a trusted commenter Seattle 20 hours ago

The 21-year old show-off accounting student says of the handgun he wears tucked in his belt on his back, "It’s more like a fire extinguisher or a seatbelt,"

NO. It is a lethal weapon that kills people when the bullets you shoot hit someone. It is beyond stupid to try to make guns seem "safe and harmless".

Bullet-Riddled Bodies Do Not Lie. GUNS KILL. Get them off the streets, and out of the schools and other public places, in America. Every gun in America must be REGISTERED on a national database, state LICENSED and FULLY INSURED FOR LIABILITY.

John Texas 17 hours ago

I'm a rifle owner and a hunter. I don't carry at all. I think in certain places and in certain times, it's reasonable to carry. I think it's generally really weird to carry on campus. I think it' extraordinarily weird to carry assault guns at political rallies.
More than anything, I think some people have a weird relationship with guns, where it's about a lot more than just protection in appropriate circumstances. I think guns are a weird psychological fetish object for a lot of Americans. The problem is, it's fetish object that in the wrong person's hands can do a lot of damage.
Liberalizing gun use needs to be accompanied with more psychological screening of gun users. Not everyone should have a right to carry.

[friendly_iconoclast]

24. Feh-they sound like Don And His Trumpkins banging on about Muslims and Mexicans

Apparently, there is such a thing as a 'just' cultural war....

[Eleanors38]

35. H-h-h-heh, heh. He said New York. H-h-heh, heh.

[anamandujano]

81. "If they like guns so much, let guns into the Texas Capitol building

when the legislature is in session."

[Hangingon]

93. Guns are permitted in the Capitol

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-allows-the-open-carry-of-handguns-even-in-the-state-capitol-a6793466.html

[DirkGently]

19. KNR. n/t

[Lee-Lee]

22. This will follow the same pattern every expansion of carry has followed

Last edited Sun Aug 28, 2016, 05:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Before the law is enacted opponents will run around with chicken little predictions of the "Wild West" "blood flowing" "heated debates now turned into killings" and the rest of the same old tired lines.

Proponets of it will counter with facts and statistics showing that none of that has any basis in prior history and that in places where similar laws were passed non of that draconian stuff has happened.

The law passes. A few anti-gun types quit jobs or otherwise have illogical overreactions, protests happen with the same tired chicken little predictions.

The protests peter out, everyone goes on with life, people who want to carry do, nobody knows because it's concealed, and none of the chicken little predictions from the gun prohibitionist crowd ever come true. Maybe a year or two later on the anniversary the media will run a story about how despite all the hysteria nothing bad has happened, but more likely the gross over exaggerations of the prohibitionist crowd get forgotten despite it showing how their arguments have little to no basis in reality or fact.

And then in another place another similar law is proposed, and the same cycle happens again.

We literally see it every time a state proposes allowing concealed carry or expanding the right at all, and every single time it goes down just like that.... It's so utterly predictable it's funny.

[ileus]

23. No No...this time it's gonna be different...there will be Blood! Blood I tell you!

No really you're right....Some students will take advantage of their newly expanded rights other won't know but still whine.

[friendly_iconoclast]

27. Ohio was the most obvious example. DUer shadowrider dug up some rather ...inconvient... quotes:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/117236603

Concealed carry: Why the uproar? (Ohio)

April 8, 2012, marked the anniversary of a law that affects the lives of more than 270,000 Buckeyes.

Ohio’s concealed-handgun license law turned 8 years old on that Sunday afternoon.

Notably absent from the festivities were blood in the streets, Wild West reenactments and an epidemic of accidental gun injuries. To understand the significance of this event and why today it seems completely unremarkable, simply Google “Ohio concealed carry 2003” and prepare to be astonished.

• “The widespread carrying of concealed handguns, however, will result in far more cases of senseless killings that occur simply because a loaded gun was readily available.” — Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, March 4, 2003.

• “Imagine your child’s class is visiting the Statehouse on the same day a group known for violence is scheduled to attend in protest.” — State Highway Patrol, March 5, 2003.

• “If 200,000 to 300,000 citizens begin carrying a concealed weapon, common sense tells us that accidents will become a daily event.” — Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, March 5, 2003.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/04/30/concealed-carry-why-the-uproar.html

None of it happened. Gimme some more of that backlash, yessiree.

[Duckhunter935]

28. Is anyone left in Georgia?

We were told blood would be running in the streets prior to the law changing. I know since it has been a couple of years, everybody should be dead by now, right?

[Lee-Lee]

38. I can't believe that every bar hasn't had a gunfight weekly here in NC

When they changed the law to allow people to carry in a restaurant that served alcohol as long as they were not drinking all the anti-gun chicken little a could talk about was how there would be Wild West shootout and how conceal carry holders were not going to follow the law and we're going to get drunk and shoot up all the bats and restaurants.

None could ever explain to me why they were following the law now that said they couldn't carry on those places but if the law was changed to just say they couldn't drink they would suddenly ignore it.

2 years later and somehow we haven't had a single Wild West shootout...

[Duckhunter935]

40. But it COULD happen

[Skittles]

29. LOL

Do you REALLY think more guns is a good thing? iI IiS PATHETIC. Do you not get that mass shootings are not the only consequence of a gun-infested society?

[friendly_iconoclast]

31. "(M)ass shootings are not the only consequence of a gun-infested society" What 'consequences'...

...are those? If crime rates do not rise, what harm is caused?

[Duckhunter935]

51. And it's amazing, since she had connections

Within a day her murderers that are gang members with previous records were caught and I hope they get the chair. Too bad the many others doing the same are protected by people and never face justice. I think people know who a lot of the criminals are but don't cooperate with the police, sadly.

[Duckhunter935]

60. True, but it helped find the murderers

It would be nice if all were solved that quick as it would definitely cut down on murders. Ending the war on drugs and prosecuting gang members and those with firearms violations like one of those little assholes would also help immensely.

[jmg257]

61. Chicago, right? They know who those are responsible for 80% of the gun violence.

It really isn't all that hard. They are all on a list.

Doing something about it apparently is.

[Duckhunter935]

62. Yep and one of the murderers was on probation

For a previous weapons violation. Even had to wear a tracking device but was allowed to take it off during the day, WTF! If he was in jail, this might not have happened.

[jmg257]

63. Sheesh. Judicial system fuck up, and other people pay, many with their lives. :(.

[Duckhunter935]

64. Link to story

Moments before the shooting, video surveillance shows Darwin Sorrells with a gun in his waistband and Derren following close behind with a silver handgun in his right hand, according to Assistant State's Attorney Katherine Schoon.

Both Sorrells brothers are convicted felons who were on parole at the time of the shooting — prime examples of the judicial system's inability to stop habitual offenders, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a Sunday news conference.

Darwin Sorrells, of the 7500 block of South Wentworth Avenue, served three years in state prison for 2013 convictions of receiving, possessing or selling a stolen vehicle and for unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He was paroled in early February.

He was convicted in 2011 of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to five years on that charge. He also has felony convictions from 2007 for aggravated battery in a public place and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.

Derren Sorrells, of the 6000 block of South Indiana Avenue, served four years in state prison for 2012 convictions of possession of a stolen vehicle and violating the terms of his electronic monitoring. He was paroled Aug. 12, according to the IDOC website. He also is a documented member of the Gangster Disciples, according to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

When asked about the difference in solving Aldridge's killing within days compared with the overwhelming majority of homicides that don't end in arrests, Johnson pointed to the community as being more cooperative because of to the high-profile nature of the case.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-two-charged-shooting-dwayne-wade-cousin-met-20160828-story.html

[jmg257]

74. Its a real problem...suicide at a 30 year high. (while crime rates have dropped some)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html

U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

By SABRINA TAVERNISE APRIL 22, 2016

WASHINGTON — Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s.

The suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64, jumped by 63 percent over the period of the study, while it rose by 43 percent for men in that age range, the sharpest increase for males of any age. The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the study on Friday.

The increases were so widespread that they lifted the nation’s suicide rate to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986. The rate rose by 2 percent a year starting in 2006, double the annual rise in the earlier period of the study. In all, 42,773 people died from suicide in 2014, compared with 29,199 in 1999.

Hopefully we can come up with some good notions to keep people from being so depressed.

[friendly_iconoclast]

97. But murders make for better appeals to emotion. You can even mention a baby, for the Lovejoy:

[Lee-Lee]

37. In the hands of responsible people, yes

If you don't feel that your personally responsible enough to carry a gun, then don't.

Laws against carry won't stop a single person intent on murder.

[Skittles]

41. Oh for fucks sake

SANE Americans are SICK of policy being dictated by GUN HUMPING MORONS (NRA) - ENOUGH ALREADY

[friendly_iconoclast]

42. CALM Americans appreciate discussion sans shouting and handwaving

You are still free to post as you wish, within DU's given terms of service.

[Duckhunter935]

50. Many of us here calmly discuss the subject

To the point of not yelling, posting insults and sexual references. You might want to step away and calm down s little, it us not healthy.

[Hoyt]

52. Yeah, gunners are such rational people.

[Duckhunter935]

55. At least here on DU we are

Do you have evidence disputing that? Are we the ones insulting DU member things like ammosexuals? Are we the ones constantly insulting firearms with references to sexual organs? Yes, DU members that are firearms owners and believe in the RKBA like the President are rational and attempt to discuss the subject in a civil manner.

[Hoyt]

58. Yes most of you promote more gunz and carry in public. Many of you sypport folks like Zman.

Compelling proof considering the anonymity here.

[Duckhunter935]

59. Who is PROMOTING guns?

And carry in public? You mean allowing people to follow the law as it is? Not supporting Zimmerman as much as the justice system that looked at the evidence during a trial and found him not guilty. Most of us that I know of, still think he is an ass.

[jmg257]

67. More important who is supporting that asshole Zimmerman??

[Hoyt]

68. If you don't believe me, go back and look at gun posts at the time. Many of

the right wing gungeoneers have been removed, although some remain.

[jmg257]

69. Sorry - its not that I doubt you, you mention it often... just haven't seen much of it myself.

Ill go on record as saying screw him.

[Hoyt]

77. Not all gunners supported him. But many could see themselves in Zman's shoes.

Glad you are not like them.

[anamandujano]

87. Are there a lot of ducks on campus that make your trigger finger itchy?

Maybe you should look at the expression on people's faces when they spot your gun. They know you're crazy. The calmer you talk and the warmer the smile, the more nauseous they get.

[Duckhunter935]

90. Well a few things

I don't hunt, just shoot paper targets.

I am not currently going to school.

I have a CCL and if I decide to carry, nobody would know. Open carry is legal, but I do not do it.

[anamandujano]

84. "and the rest of the same old tired lines."

You don't think your spiel is tired?

[Lee-Lee]

94. All I did was accurately describe how this whole debate will take shape

That's not a spiel, it's reality.

You can go back and look at news stories about pretty much any change in carry laws and see the same pattern I describe happen.

[friendly_iconoclast]

98. "That's not a spiel, it's reality." Moral panic-mongers don't like inconvenient mentions of reality

It tends to interfere with their efforts to get the rubes worked up
make the public aware of the very real dangers faced...

[hamsterjill]

92. Employees are scared to death.

It's so sad that a culture of learning has been turned into a political battle. It should not be so.

The very availability of a gun can escalate an argument. An argument that might have once ended with a punch in the nose (while not acceptable, but survivable) nowadays might very likely end with death.

It's absurd. We don't need guns on a college campus.

[friendly_iconoclast]

96. If they are, it's because they succumbed to a moral panic. Pure and simple.

[hamsterjill]

99. No.

You can be in the line of fire and get shot whether you, yourself, have a gun or not.

It will be the insecure, unstable people who feel the need to carry guns. It's a smart thing to be concerned. It's a dumb thing to have guns on a campus. Pure and simple.

[friendly_iconoclast]

102. Those you term "insecure, unstable people" are safer than the public as a whole:

http://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/chl/reports/convrates.htm

(tl,dr version- 108 Texas CCW license holder were convicted of felonies in 2015)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1172&pid=198548

Out of a population of 940,877-that's *1* conviction for every 8711 permitees

http://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/chl/reports/ActLicAndInstr/ActiveLicandInstr2015.pdf

Active License/Certified Instructor Counts
As of December 31, 2015

Active License Holders:
937,419
Certified Instructors:
3,458

These numbers reflect the number of licensed individuals and certified instructors

A remarkably harmless lot, as groups of people go- unless, of course someone is
thinking of this sort of 'harm':

"But, in any event, physical danger does not exhaust the categories of harms that society may seek to prevent by legislation, and no activity that society thinks immoral is
victimless. Knowledge that an activity is taking place is a harm to those who find it profoundly immoral."

Robert Bork, The Tempting of America, p. 123

[hamsterjill]

103. I'm not interested in links.

I am interested in common sense.

It's stupid and dangerous to allow guns on a campus. Sorry, but my mind is made up and won't be changing. So, post, link, argue all you wish, but I don't want more guns.

[friendly_iconoclast]

110. You are entirely free to hold and state that belief, but it's not one supported by evidence

[Lee-Lee]

105. It's funny you use the long disproven "it will escalate arguments" line

When referring to college campuses since we expect campuses to deal in evidence based arguments.

That same tired "arguments will turn deadly" argument has been trotted out by concealed carry opponents every single time a new concealed carry law has been proposed. Every time we hear it. And then every time when the law passed and none of those dire predictions come true none of the people who were screaming it like chicken little ever admit what fools they were.

Look above- I even predicted you would use that tired, long disproven by similar laws passed elsewhere line up above because you are following such a predictable path.

[hamsterjill]

107. I don't care what you have predicted.

Again, I, the person. The individual. The American citizen. Don't. Want. Guns. On. College. Campuses.

What are you doing on this board if you don't support Democratic values?

[beevul]

108. "What are you doing on this board if you don't support Democratic values?"

"What are you doing on this board if you don't support Democratic values?"

This is an old and tired argument, used a as club in an attempt to silence ones interlocutor.

Unless you agree completely with all Democrats on everything, which is impossible since not all Democrats agree on everything, its a hollow, meaningless assertion.

Pro-gun Democrats exist. Get over it or don't, but we aren't going away.

If you don't like guns, don't own one. If you don't like gun carry on a campus or elsewhere, then don't carry one.

[friendly_iconoclast]

111. Who appointed you arbiter of Democratic values?

[hamsterjill]

119. It isn't an arbitration.

It's part of the Democratic platform. Please consult page 39.

https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf

Please see specifically, the language involving "sensible action to control gun violence".

[friendly_iconoclast]

120. "We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping our communities safe."

That is to be found on the very page 39 that you mentioned- which brings some points:

http://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/chl/reports/convrates.htm

(tl,dr version: 108 Texas CCW license holders were convicted of felonies in 2015)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1172&pid=198548

Out of a population of 940,877-that's *1* conviction for every 8711 permitees

http://www.dps.texas.gov/rsd/chl/reports/ActLicAndInstr/ActiveLicandInstr2015.pdf

Active License/Certified Instructor Counts
As of December 31, 2015


Active License Holders:
937,419
Certified Instructors:
3,458

These numbers reflect the number of licensed individuals and certified instructors

IOW, they're safer to be around than those they purportedly 'endager'

Since Texas concealed handgun licensees have demonstrated that they are, in fact,
responsible gun owners, the question of who is or isn't "supporting Democratic values"
might not have an answer that you'd care for...

[hamsterjill]

122. Why do we need guns on a college campus?

n/t

[friendly_iconoclast]

123. Who is 'we'? Also, rights are not based on third-party declarations of need

If a UT student or employee feels the need to carry a gun legally, and chooses to do so,
the opinions of kibitzers carry no legal weight- nor should they.

[hamsterjill]

125. I'm putting you on Ignore.

You obviously have an agenda to which I don't subscribe.

[beevul]

127. They love them some forced teaming, don't they?

But call them on it and you make the iggy list.

It would be hilarious if it wasn't so very sad.

[friendly_iconoclast]

129. That backfired (pun intended) rather spectacularly, didn't it?

[beevul]

134. It did indeed. N/T

[EX500rider]

117. "What are you doing on this board if you don't support Democratic values?"

You mean the Democratic Platform that says this:

We recognize that the individual right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition, and we will preserve Americans' Second Amendment right to own and use firearms.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Democratic_Party_Gun_Control.htm

Who exactly is out of line from that here?

[ManiacJoe]

113. Do they really fear armed staff that much?

If so, the staff members need to be fired.

Concealed carry on campus is not about the students. The vast majority of the students are not allowed to carry. To have a conceal carry license you need to be 21; that means, of the traditional students, only the oldest half of the senior class is even eligible.

Concealed carry on campus is about the staff and professors having concealed pistols.

[phylny]

114. I find it funny that they can ban guns in certain areas of campus. Why can't people carry

at a football game? Wouldn't you think gun lovers would want to protect themselves from the other side?

I hate guns.