Spring Break
In protest, students carry empty holsters
Nicole Santa Cruz - Arizona Daily Wildcat, U. Arizona
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
Forget drunken debauchery. As soon as James Knitter, the University of Arizona campus leader for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, turned 21, he got a concealed weapons permit.
"I've been carrying ever since," the pre-physiology sophomore said.
He put in his application to start the UA chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus just two days before the shootings that killed six people at Northern Illinois university Feb. 14.
"For me, the NIU shooting was vindication," he said. "It gave me even more of a reason to start this thing."
The Students for Conceled Carry on Campus organization started right after the April 16 Virginia Tech shooting just more than a year ago. Since then, national membership has grown to more than 25,000 college students, faculty members and other citizens.
This week, the organization is holding an "empty holster" protest nationwide, where students wear empty holsters to campus to raise awareness of gun laws, and for students and faculty to be able to protest the defenselessness they may feel by not being able to carry on campus, Knitter said.
"The empty holster is symbolic for current policies tying our hands behind our backs," Knitter said. "With students that carry everywhere else, why should the campus be any different?"
About 20 students are participating in the empty holster protest, which hasn't garnered much attention from students, Knitter said.
"Surprisingly, no students have asked me about it," he said. "Most people look at it and don't even do a double take."
Even though the protest may not be attracting much attention, recently legislation has been considered in the State Legislature to allow students to carry weapons on campus, said he is still optimistic about the idea's future.
"A bill that controversial takes time to educate the public and takes time to educate legislators," he said. "Bills like that take multiple sessions."
"I've been carrying ever since," the pre-physiology sophomore said.
He put in his application to start the UA chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus just two days before the shootings that killed six people at Northern Illinois university Feb. 14.
"For me, the NIU shooting was vindication," he said. "It gave me even more of a reason to start this thing."
The Students for Conceled Carry on Campus organization started right after the April 16 Virginia Tech shooting just more than a year ago. Since then, national membership has grown to more than 25,000 college students, faculty members and other citizens.
This week, the organization is holding an "empty holster" protest nationwide, where students wear empty holsters to campus to raise awareness of gun laws, and for students and faculty to be able to protest the defenselessness they may feel by not being able to carry on campus, Knitter said.
"The empty holster is symbolic for current policies tying our hands behind our backs," Knitter said. "With students that carry everywhere else, why should the campus be any different?"
About 20 students are participating in the empty holster protest, which hasn't garnered much attention from students, Knitter said.
"Surprisingly, no students have asked me about it," he said. "Most people look at it and don't even do a double take."
Even though the protest may not be attracting much attention, recently legislation has been considered in the State Legislature to allow students to carry weapons on campus, said he is still optimistic about the idea's future.
"A bill that controversial takes time to educate the public and takes time to educate legislators," he said. "Bills like that take multiple sessions."
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