This last Thursday night, as I was studying for my economics exam (OK, I was actually watching CSI, but whatever) the sound of out-of-sync chanting reached my window. When I checked outside my window, I realized it was the Take Back the Night Rally, this campus?s annual one-night stand against violence toward women. As the marchers held candles and chanted such catchy tunes as ?I will not be silent so you can be violent,? I realized the hypocrisy of several of the groups participating in this march, as well as the university as a whole. I am speaking of the denial of a woman?s most basic right, her right to self-defense.
Virginia Tech, as well as most universities in Virginia, refuses to allow holders of concealed carry permits to carry their firearms on collegiate campuses. Never mind the fact that people who receive concealed carry permits have to undergo a rigorous examination and background check before they are issued the permit.
Never mind the fact that statistics routinely show that areas that allow concealed carry permits have substantially reduced crime rates (murder down by 8.5 percent, rape down by 5 percent, serious assault down by 7 percent). And never mind the fact that the 2002 shooting at the Appalachian School of Law, where two people were killed, was only stopped when two students at the school ran to their vehicles and confronted the shooter with their own handguns. Don?t get me wrong. I wish we could live in a world where both men and women can walk the streets alone at night with no fear of robbery, assault or even worse.
Unfortunately, in real life there is always a criminal element that seeks to prey on the weaker elements of society.
And if you are a criminal, what better place is there where you already know that your victims will be unarmed? The best way to protect women against violence is not with candles and chants, but by empowering them with the basic right to self-defense by allowing concealed carry permits on this campus.
