Collegiate Times

"Those who want to advocate for greater concealed carry on campus, they have a heavy burden of showing they were right given what I have heard from law enforcement professionals who do this every day," Kaine said.

Most gun control bills did not make it into Virginia law. Only two main bills got past the legislature into the governor's hands, and both were vetoed.

Neither would have affected college campuses, according to Cole. One would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to keep their gun in the glove box of a car instead of on a seat beside him or her. The other bill would let concealed carry permit holders possess firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol as long as they do not consume alcohol.

"I thought both of those were very reasonable and responsible measures, and I was disappointed to see the governor veto them," Cole said.

Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens' Defense League, suggested that he was disappointed with the governor.

"The governor's all mixed up," Van Cleave said. "I think he's very confused about the whole issue himself."

Van Cleave stated that America has tried having stricter gun control, especially in the last 30 years, but "decided it doesn't work and only restricts the law-abiding citizens," instead of criminals.

When Van Cleave and his counterparts were lobbying legislators against gun control policies before April 16, he said, "it felt like we were in a race against time and time ran out for 32 students."

Two days after the shootings, Kaine announced that former state police superintendent Gerald Massengill would lead a review of authorities' handling of April 16 events. Massengill said that after speaking with campus police, college officials and students, the panel decided that, "more guns on campus, just the idea of guns, doesn't appear to be a prudent thing."

He said he was disappointed that the "gun show loophole bill" didn't pass, and explained that allowing concealed carry on campus may cause problems.

"Police expressed concern that if we are called into a situation, it would be in the best interest of public safety to not have to figure out if the guy with the gun was a bad guy or good guy," Massengill said.

However, he added that the panel's report stated, "it certainly could be reasonably argued that if someone had been on the second floor with a gun, Cho probably wouldn't have killed 30 people." He said bills such as these should be highly considered before passing or failing.

"The issue is a difficult one," Massengill said.

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