We may be a new organization on campus, but early on we declared that April 16, 2008 would be off-limits for discussing our movement or conducting any activities.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus at Virginia Tech consists of Virginia Tech students and alumni who respect the right to carry a firearm responsibly as a means of self-defense.
One of our biggest goals is to share the facts and reasoning that brought us to support this, as many of us were against firearms previously. It takes some time to see this, so we encourage anyone who opposes concealed carry or is undecided about it to take some time researching the matter and make a well-informed decision. As such, it is imperative that our activities be respectful and educational.
To this end, it is clear that holding a protest on a day of remembrance would be quite inappropriate, and we have never considered it.
Any rumors circulating that we're doing otherwise should be addressed by this official statement. Further, most members have people they wish to remember and honor on that day, and will use the time off from classes to do so. SCCC at VT has also turned down all requests for interviews to be posted or aired on April 16, and will not take interviews on the day, either.
This includes the Collegiate Times, who asked our group for input on gun legislation to be posted in the April 16 special edition paper. We respectfully declined, and suggested that such items be printed another day.
No matter what your beliefs, your politics or your background, they should be set aside on April 16. Just one year earlier we joined together and did just that; the world saw what is amazing about Tech. We should do that once again. Whether you support SCCC's movement or not, I think you can agree.
Ken Stanton
Ph.D. student, engineering education