sigh.

This from the only Superpower in the world, thus highlighting the gap between the US and the rest of the world.

indeed. in most of the world, women--mainly women, at any rate--have no ability at all to protect themselves, and no recourse at all if they are assaulted. i think i said something to that effect a few pages back.

she or he should view her friends, male and female, as human beings, with all of the faults and foibles that entails. that means understanding that anyone can potentially be a threat--but that many of them probably aren't. the balance a person chooses to strike between leading a full life and maintaining their personal safety is up to them. but it is a choice, and it's one that i would recommend everyone make with deliberate consideration.

i think part of the reason people are taking my stance the wrong way is that most people, when it comes to rape, focus on what to do if it happens. they assume, in any hypothetical case, that the rape has already occurred, and that the major issue is dealing with the fallout--helping the victim recover, punishing the attacker.

my focus is, and will remain, on preventing the rape from happening in the first place. that means working to change society so that rape becomes less prevalent, but there is a very limited extent to which that will help. we can work as hard as we can to make rape a choice that others are less likely to make, but the only aspect of rape (or any other type of assault) that we ourselves can directly control is how we protect ourselves from it. helping the victim recover and punishing the attacker are necessary and good, but there's no way to erase the hurt that the assault caused. the best can do is try to prevent the hurt from occurring in the first place.

I don't know if this has been said before. But in reflection of this article, while I do agree with certain points in Guzman's argument (namely the fact that it's likely concealed owners are more adjusted to their particular weapons and likely more trained on how to fire.) what he did not touch upon was two intense exfactors.

1. handling of a crisis situation requires specialized training. I doubt that a concealed owner wouldhave the same level of training and field experience as the average local SWAT unit. especially in when mixed with point number two.

2. Mixed company. At a college you have a melting pot of cultures and personalities. a local texan might think it's quite alright to carry a gun into a bank - Here in Bk that is far from the truth. and likewise on campus - when the concealed weapon is revealed - it will only add to confusion, crossfire, and likely more deaths.

could be a great idea if everyone is responsible - however, not every one is that's why gun laws exist in addition to the second amendment.

Guns - The "terrorists" for liberals.

Look, I carry every day. I'm not a cowboy, I'm not a hero.

If I were in class, and I heard shooting down the hall, I'd try to take cover behind something that can stop bullets, try to get an angle where any misses won't hurt anyone, and wait for the bastard to come through the door.

I'll be damned if I'm going to let someone kill me because you have an irrational fear of guns, and the people who carry them.

I don't have an irrational fear of guns. (I'm assuming you're talking to me, since I'm the O.P.). I am a gun owner, and an avid hunter and shooter.

But you sound exactly like the sort of gun nut that should be kept away from guns. You sound like you'd be disappointed if the supposed shooter DIDN'T come through your door.

And the photo of you holding what I assume are escrima sticks doesn't ease my concern about that perception.

i'm not sure it's fair to damn a gun enthusiast for being enthusiastic.

Maybe it's an irrational fear of people who carry them, with a healthy dose of projection. We're talking about adults who carry every day. They leave their gun in the car if they're going to have a drink at dinner; I won't have a drop of alcohol if I'm carrying. They avoid confrontation, and defuse situations because it's drilled into you in the CCW class that the consequences could be dire. They're cognizant of the fact that if they ever have to shoot, they have to shoot carefully; they're fully responsible for any stray bullets.

It's a good thing my liberties aren't subject to the whims of some schmoe on the internet. Anyway, I'd probably a combination of disappointment and relief; disappointment if he went on to kill other people instead of having the chance to stop him; relief that I don't have to. I really don't have any problem killing someone if I'm legally justified; a lot of people do, I don't.

You lack culture.

To address some points in your main post:

1. It would be stupendously, and prohibitively expensive to bulletproof an entire campus.
2. You can't bulletproof people who are out and about.
3. The "gun kept in the home is more likely to hurt a family member" is one of the most intellectually dishonest and dubious bits of drivel ever spread about guns. That doesn't stop the Brady Campaign, and people who believe the bad research from parroting it.
4. Traning and drills for such a situation are good, but it doesn't change the fact that the policy you support results in a campus with just one guy having a gun - the bad guy.

CCW permit holders are more safe than your average person, don't be so afraid of them, their age, or the situation they're in.

Is it me, or is it something else:

I didn't see the phrase "my responsibility" anywhere in your comment. I saw the phrase "my liberties", though.

Somehow, I don't feel your "liberties" take account of my "liberties". Or your responsibilities.

um...?

my position is that guns belong on a campus as much as they belong anywhere else. if campuses were safe, if they were places where you didn't have to worry about bad things happening to you, then guns would have no place there. but campuses are not safe, even disregarding edge cases like VA Tech.

Wow, this post is still kicking?

Here's an excellent article I came across on the subject of firearms recently.

http://www.jpfo.org/smith/smith-leo-straight.htm