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Interview with 'The Campus Word' about Campus Carry

4K views 28 replies 19 participants last post by  jeep45238 
#1 ·
http://www.thecampusword.com/content/view/1737/413/

They did a pretty fair and neutral piece - even though it took me a solid 1/2 hour to finally make the interviewer realize that people can, and always will, illegally carry, and the presence of firearms in a dorm will not lead to the theft of said firearms if they are being carried on one's person nearly the entire time. Poor guy kept trying to answer another question after injecting his own quick rebuttal - I don't think he was expecting me to write out everything I did.

The article is their most popular one - and we've been asked to send any more press releases/articles their way for publication. Feel free to leave a comment if your heart desires!
 
#2 ·
Great interview. While I support an increase in concealed carry and less firearm restrictions and laws. As I've followed your group the immediate concern was increased number of guns, the use of alcohol, and the general perception that guns on campus was ripe for accidents and irresponsibility. But I have changed my mind because of the fact that there is a great difference in the responsibility between an 18/19 y/o freshman and a 21 y/o junior/senior. I fully support your goals.
 
#5 · (Edited)
good interview. and nice replies to some of the comments. now we need a group for concealed carry on base.

another point when people bring up age and responsability you can mention that the gov't has people in the same primary age group carrying machine guns at almost every U.S. embassy and several other similar postings without any major issue.
 
#6 ·
You had great answers in the interview. I could tell the interviewer was actually starting to THINK logically rather than FEEL emotionally.

Keep up the good work!:hand10:
 
#7 ·
Once we get concealed carry in all 50 states in our education systems I'll get working with folks for both open, and concealed, carry on all bases in our military.

Sound good? I'm pretty sure that would be much easier to get into action than campus carry ;-)
 
#8 ·
I appreciate what you're doing. You may hit rough spots and no doubt you're in an uphill battle, so don't get discouraged if things don't go the way or as fast as you'd hoped. Change does take time and typically comes in small increments.

E.g., here in TN, we've been trying to legalize carry in resturants that serve alcohol and due to essentially one anti-gun legislator in a powerful position, each time the bill(s) have not been allowed to come to a vote - very frustrating. I guess the bright side is, he's afraid if it comes to a vote, the bill(s) will pass. One day maybe.
 
#14 ·
I appreciate the support. Like I've told everybody who wants to know how to help - if you can't get on campus or find a local campus leader who needs help, just keep bringing up the issue and mentioning us, especially to people that have students as children or directly to the students themselves. Every little bit helps us.

In the end, we can all use this as a leveraging piece. We're working right now by leveraging off of public Utah universities, Colorado State, and Blue Ridge Community College for the rest of the states - and we're getting a lot of attention.
 
#11 ·
mike very good interview and im glad that as what was said earlier that you finally got him to think and not feel. that is a VERY hard thing to do with intellectuals that are overly intellectual and lack common sense =o). lot of that going around these days. its all about fit in and dont think for yourself.....do as we do reguardless of how stupid it sounds. i hope things continue to work for you and the group.
 
#13 ·
We've gained 1000 members in 16 days.

10/26 - 7,000
11/13 - 8,000
11/29 - 9,000

Are our membership records so far.

It was extremely difficult. I would counter his 'logical' original questions, and it took him a while to respond with the next question - preceded by a 'yes, but still, it logically will occur that...'. I don't think he expected me to catch that every time and re-counter using new information and logic. :rofl: It was honestly almost fun.

Towards the end, off record, he said that he wasn't quite sure where he stood-which is better than where it originally stood from what I gathered by the questions he started off by asking. He did some homework/research, but not much - but it still beats, by a long shot, what others have done.

I'm hoping to have a good working relationship with him as we'll begin sending our PR's and other news pieces to him.
 
#16 ·
Hear hear! All were great answers. I think you managed to pull the intervierw's rug from underneath him and got him to think. Be sure to follow up and thank the guy for allowing you to have the chance to express your and our views on concealed carry.

Keep up the absolutely great work, we are proud!
 
#18 ·
I'm really excited by this explosive grassroots gun rights movement on campuses nationwide. One thing that concerns me is that the leadership of these campus groups will tend to be upper classmen, those old enough to already carry legally. It is important to interest the under 21 students to join too, so that they can take over the leadership positions when current leaders graduate and move on with their lives. The "take a freshman to the range" is a great idea in that direction.

Keep up the good work.
 
#19 ·
Hello all, I am the "poor guy" mentioned above, Chase Garbarino, from The Campus Word. To address Mike's post, I knew before the interview that people carry illegally, not too hard to figure out. However, The Campus Word was interviewing Mike, not me personally, and our goal is to educate people, and while I personally am against making guns illegal and all the stuff that many liberal college kids support, an answer of "People with licenses won't have their gun stolen, or misplaced" simply won't suffice when talking to that crowd about carrying guns on campus. Even an in depth discourse, which is what we were going for, still won't warm many students up to the idea of guns on campus.

I wasn't surprised that Michael answered our questions fully, we asked for the interview, that's usually how these things go. I just wasn't expecting the media relations guy (who isn't a student, which is what our site is all about) to email me after the interview asking me to "clarify" on one of the answers. We were trying to conduct as much of a candid discourse as we could via IM while doing a fair job of not taking Mike's answers out of context.

While I support concealed carry and many other conservative stances on gun laws, and while both Michael and Stephen truly present strong, and articulate arguments, I personally (not TCW) went the other way on having guns on campus simply because of the complete disregard there was for the fact that accidents can happen, and of course it is more likely to happen with a bunch of student under the age of 21 around. SCCC may continue to develop support from people who already think guns should be legal on campuses, but until they are more sensitive to the issues of alcohol and the college atmosphere POSSIBLY (not definitely because no one can predict what will happen) adding risk to having guns on campus, they will never get the people on the fringe to change their minds.

Just my thoughts, but I admire SCCC's goal of education and I like this site's forum rules regarding respect.

-Chase Garbarino
 
#28 ·
Chase, as I told you, I have nothing but respect for you and your organization. The caliber of journalism is surprising and it is a refreshing change of pace to see a neutral piece written that comes from both sides of the issue to get the reader to think. The only reason why I wrote "poor guy" is because I have yet to have an interviewer attempt to make the same point multiple times, with a long pause between my response and the next question. The computer screen doesn't offer much of a feedback if it's just somebody making sure they've worded everything correctly, or if it's somebody whose next question was blown out of the water - sorry for the wrong assumption bud!

Given your request for the theft questions - the police chief at the University of Utah has allowed us to point out his stats where there have been 0 issues with guns and license holders on campus. We also have a very reliable source saying the same applies at Colorado State, but we unfortunately can't quote them on record as such.

I thought the questions were pretty well thought out, but came from a viewpoint from somebody who was against concealed carry - which is fine. As you showed, my feelings were wrong. While accidents can happen, there is no empirical evidence that I have been able to find that shows license holders are more likely to have their guns stolen, regardless their dwellings. Yes, there is a potential for accidents to occur. However, using the CDC's website - http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_sy.html - it clearly shows that vehicle related incidents kill about 15 in 100,000. Firearm related incidents kill about 10 in 100,000 - and drops to about 4 in 100,000 when you take out suicide. This is for all ages, all races, etc., for all years the data is available. A vehicle isn't designed to kill, yet does so quite more often compared to a firearm (which some, excluding myself, is designed only to kill). I think it's a safe bet to apply the numbers a bit more universally, so to speak, after reading a bunch of studies and reports on concealed carry and gun control. That's just me though.

I also did not see this second pages of posts, glad to hear you want to continue speaking with TCW Mike! Secondly, palmgopher - thanks for calling me an 'intellectual' - however you should be careful with the generalizations.

I did not do a ton of "homework" for the interview. I am not an expert on gun laws by any stretch of the imagination. We started TCW because we were tired of big media spinning issues, both left and right, to make more controversial stories. I go into interviews hoping to learn something rather than developing an agenda ahead of time. Sadly, if that is considered "having the rug pulled from underneath me", we as a society have allowed the media to make us think that confrontation is expected in interviews and the news.

Sorry to be posting back to back here, new to the forums.

I absolutely positively do hope to continue to talk to you in the future more often. It was a refreshingly positive change to speak to somebody doing an interview who doesn't have a political agenda attached to it (either for our end goal, or against it). The people who are for it are usually conservative talk radio hosts, whose listeners generally already support our goals. The people who are against it are just waiting for anything that can be taken out of context to make you look like a buffoon while only giving you a very small amount of coverage compared to somebody like Peter Hamm - who I've yet to see use any stat figures to make his 'points.' I hope that you don't have any reservations in contacting me with any questions you may have, or anything you may want a comment on. You've got my email :smile: I'll definitely send you any future press releases we have in the future without a second thought.
 
#20 ·
I also did not see this second pages of posts, glad to hear you want to continue speaking with TCW Mike! Secondly, palmgopher - thanks for calling me an 'intellectual' - however you should be careful with the generalizations.

I did not do a ton of "homework" for the interview. I am not an expert on gun laws by any stretch of the imagination. We started TCW because we were tired of big media spinning issues, both left and right, to make more controversial stories. I go into interviews hoping to learn something rather than developing an agenda ahead of time. Sadly, if that is considered "having the rug pulled from underneath me", we as a society have allowed the media to make us think that confrontation is expected in interviews and the news.

Sorry to be posting back to back here, new to the forums.
 
#21 ·
I think you will see teachers carrying before students. Having two in college right now and the stories I hear (which brings back memories), I too find it a stretch. Granted, Utah allows it...but also heavily Mormon (no alcohol). Nothing against youth...party hardy...

On the flip side...many Universities have banned alcohol on campus...so this argument is moot.

Rick
 
#29 ·
If faculty and staff can carry, that's great. We're pushing to have college campuses removed from the list of 'no carry zones' - or as we call them in Ohio - CPZ's (criminal protection zones). If college campuses are removed from the CPZ's, and the legislation is smart enough to explicitly state the tax subsidized colleges can't enact their own policies that over-rule the state laws, then guess what?

Faculty and staff can carry. Anybody who is licensed can carry. Some students are licensed :congrats:

I admit that I like the taste of beer. Ok, that's a lie - I love it. By beer, I mean the bottom of the barrel is Budwiser Select - and rarely do I have them in quantities greater than two or without friends/family over steaks.
 
#22 ·
Good interview. Keep me informed on the educational activities here in OH. I would be happy to donate my time, ammo and guns for the cause.

"TCW: I'm not qualified to put myself in the shoes of a rapist, but you do present a very interesting argument." There were videos going around the net earlier in the year by a group from Canada, one of which was using a firearm in defense of rape. It showed the same scene, 2 ways. One with the young female showing a handgun and the guy running away, the other with her pulling a cell phone. Very chilling video and very effective. Maybe find this and send it to the interviewer as a follow up?
 
#23 ·
Guys, I am the interviewer. By sending me an acted scene of a girl defending herself against a rapist because she has a gun isn't going to really show me anything. A rapist who is sick in the head may not be deterred by a girl with a gun, I have no idea what a rapist is thinking.

I'm not the person you need to be confronting, my point of doing the interview was to bring the issue to life and let the student population on our site discuss it.
 
#24 ·
I scanned through after posting and saw your comments, good job with Mike and company. It may not show you something, but visual imagery helps a lot of people and really hits home to some. I'm not going to walk the fine line and say we need to resort to fear mongering and propaganda. Logical debate needs to be first and foremost. But there are some very good sources around the net illustrating our views. If this is the same group, they did some wonderful pieces found on you tube, titled Katy's firearms facts, IIRC. Penn and Teller have the episode from their show that illustrates some great points. Oleg Volk also has some great pieces found on The Highroad and on his website.
scanning through the search box, I found the video:

http://www.usconcealedcarry.com/public/764.cfm

EDIT
Found Katey's youtube page:
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=kateysfirearmsfacts

(In a country were we base our presidential choice on a 30 second ad and whose hair looks the best, visual imagery and youtube style PSA ads are not a bad idea to get our point across)
 
#25 ·
http://www.thecampusword.com/content/view/1737/413/

They did a pretty fair and neutral piece -
I am bummed that site hates me or my browser (Safari) every time I load it my browser crashes. That has never happened before. Does it have a conservative red neck biker sniffer or something?

A rapist who is sick in the head may not be deterred by a girl with a gun, I have no idea what a rapist is thinking.
Not to let this thread get highjacked but answer your post You are correct a rapist is a sick puke. As such most will never be able to comprehend what is going on in his head. Pulling a gun on one may not deter one. He may insist that you do the harsh thing and MAKE HIM STOP . That is why we do not advocate everyone carry a gun. Because before you do you must decide for yourself are you willing
A) To get the training and skills to use it properly.
B) Understand that law in your area and finally
C) Will you be able use the gun if your life or the life and safety of your loved ones depends on it.
No one here that I know of ever wants to harm another human being, no matter how foul they may be. Not ever. That is not why we carry, but most all of us have answered yes to the above questions because none of us are willing to allow those we love be harmed. Including ourselves.
 
#26 ·
Great job on that interview. I work at a university and am trying to decide how to bring up the issue without getting myself in hot water with the administration. I support the right of student permit holders to carry on campus, definitely. I also find that most of the argument about carry on campus seems to ignore the staff and faculty. We don't live there so the theft argument is not an issue, also alcohol is not an issue, we're mature adults, etc - but we are not allowed to defend ourselves or the students.

I understand this as little as I understand why a teacher can't carry in an elementary or high school. We trust teachers with our children... but only if we disarm them so they can't protect the children. Bah.

I get the feeling that staff/faculty who carry are sitting back waiting for the students to try to change the no-carry policies. Personally, I think students have more of a chance of getting changes made, because the administration needs the students' money. University employees can be replaced if they get uppity.

I like my job and won't put it at risk, but if I see any way I can realistically help I will. This article will be a good reference for me to have in the arsenal of arguments.
 
#27 ·
I think if anything is more likely to happen, it will be teachers, faculty and staff allowed to carry before us. Keep in mind that some of your most outspoken members against CCW will be the staff and teachers. Sundog, with your position elevated from mere serf (ie. student) talk to the local LEO's or campus security/police and see what the department's position is. Or even an individual patrol officer. Feel out some of your colleagues on the issue of guns in general and the shooting sports. An endorsement or two from the LEO's or a few other staff members and putting them in touch with the students on your campus who are working for this might help.
 
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