Whenever a state moves to repeal an unconstitutional gun law, gun control advocates go all Dexter’s Lab. ‘There’ll be doom and gloom and things will go boom!’ Whether it’s Constitutional carry, open carry, campus carry, bar carry or some other gun right restoration, the pattern is always the same. The antis and their media enablers sound the false alarm, stoke unfounded fears, and ignore the fact that there wasn’t blood in the streets when other states passed the exact same gun law. Then, after the legislation passes . . .
Nothing. Nothing happens. The streets remain bloodless. More Americans exercise their right to keep and bear arms with less government infringement. Do the formerly hysterical media return to the scene of the grime to reveal that the naysayers had it all wrong? Not usually. But occasionally. Post-Texas campus carry, kfoxtv.com visited the University of Texas in El Paso.
Claster contacted the University to find out if anything has happened regarding Campus Carry, or if there have even been any calls to campus police since August 1. UTEP officials sent her a statement reading, “There have not been any reported gun-related incidents, or calls since SB11 went into effect.”
“I guess I feel safer,” Gallegos said. “Because we have heard about other colleges having incidents. You never know what the case might be, so it would be nice if people on campus that are carrying guns also know how to use them.”
“I feel less safe because I’m not 21 yet, so I can’t have a gun yet. So I feel less safe,” Salado said.
Before you write off Ms. Salado as having bought into the anti-campus carry propaganda — which still resounds throughout the media — read her next statement.
“Are you going to buy one once you turn 21?” Claster asked Salado.
“Definitely,” Salado answered. “If they have one, why shouldn’t I have one?”
The idea that young people are lost on the gun culture, that the pro-gun position will die out when Bible-clinging OFWGs finally stroke out, is false.
Young people are, in fact, the most pro-gun generation in America. For many pundits who see millennials as hippie liberals, this is surprising. Two-thirds of young people have considered owning a gun in the future. Millennials are the least likely generation to support gun bans, with 70 percent of young Americans saying they believe civilians should have the right to own assault weapons, compared with just 51 percent of Americans overall. The millennials consensus is that gun control restricts law-abiding citizens without reducing violence.
It’s not surprising that millennials are more supportive of gun rights than the previous generation. They have been raised in an era offering immediate access to many data sources, not just three TV channels. Whether it’s gun-based video games or mainstream media, they know the difference between fantasy and reality.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
I’d be interested to see the research that the article cites. I am a millennial and find the statistic regarding 70% of us support individual gun rights surprising. While my circle of friends is definitely pro-gun, I did graduate from a large, state university and there were plenty of my cohort there who definitely were not 2A-friendly. If you read the actual article, it shows that the majority of millennials appear to fall into the “support the 2A, but…” category.
Taken at face value though, the article sounds promising.
I’m with you on that there. I have a few friends that are all for the second amendment, have a few that are pretty much against anything even remotely related to bearing arms, and a decent amount of “we need some restrictions just because they might help something.” Always really surprised on the variety of random restrictions they want though. It varies from annual licensing just for ownership, to long gun bans, to mandatory safe storage, and a few universal background check ideas and no one really ever crosses into anything but their recommendation. So yeah, I’d say most of our generation falls into the “support the second amendment but…” category but they also can’t agree on how to restrict it.
So probably not all that different from other generations of Americans; just depends on what you say after the word “but”…there are varying degrees.
“I am a millennial and find the statistic regarding 70% of us support individual gun rights surprising.”
Now remove the word “gun” and read the statement out loud;
“I am a millennial and find the statistic regarding 70% of us support individual rights surprising.”
That’s the thing. I doesn’t matter what they think on any particular issue as long as they support globalism, collectivism, and stronger authoritarian central government.
Ha ha, this. I have this one friend who always likes to yell about anyone’s everyone’s rights and all that. But as soon as anyone does something that she doesn’t like, it instantly turns into a “they shouldn’t be allowed to do that”
“I guess I feel safer,” Gallegos said. “Because we have heard about other colleges having incidents.”
Interesting. I have not heard of any colleges, in any state, having any “incidents”. Can someone confirm or deny that there have been actual incidents in colleges somewhere related to campus carry, or is this, as usual, just made-up bullshit designed to fool people into believing a lie?
I recall something about a negligent discharge in one of the dorms somewhere not too long ago, but that’s about it.
By “incidents”, I think he was referring to incidents of violence or potential violence, where having an armed individual nearby would prevent or reduce casualties.
To paraphrase Family Guy, are you sure it was an “incident”? Are you sure it wasn’t nothing?
Someone at Tarleton had a ND in their dorm room, that’s the only one I’ve heard yet.
You know, the attitude here with these students interviewed showed why the left fights so desperately to keep natural rights infringed, even when they are from out of state or have no dog in the fight. People get a taste of liberty, and start to realize that the slave quarters are not the best habitations to occupy.
From Narrative on the life of Frederick Douglass “‘If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. [~2.5 feet]’ These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought.”
Once some people reclaim the liberties that used to be only allowed to crime bosses and their thugs (i.e. politicians and police), they start taking others back too. When liberals see things like Campus Carry in the second largest state, it is as if a wildfire is ripping through the foul infrastructure of statism they erected with so much labor, and even now draws near to other ghettos dear to their hearts. Once a man is responsible enough to carry a lethal weapon, why is he too incompetent to shop for his own medicines? Choose his own children’s school?
“From Narrative on the life of Frederick Douglass “‘If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. [~2.5 feet]”
Cuts both ways with pro and anti, however when liberty to lawfully protect oneself in public is restored, one can feel air swirling in your lungs.
I don’t want to plagiarize Mr. Douglass’s here. The words starting at “If you” which was a lead off with a quote he heard from some slave owner, all the way to “of thought” are from his book.
It’s a bit confusing to read with the ” and ‘ and “‘ but it’s one of those situations where the context beautifully supported the idea I tried to embody with the quotation, but the full context is lacking without paragraphing, which is death for casual readership in a comment section. Also an “Ell” is an archaic measurement meaning a little less than a yard.
Anyways, I remembered that page in his book when I was reading the comments here. Freedom does not dull the taste buds, but rather stirs a ravenous hunger.
Campus carry scares the shit out of the gun grabbers. If they can’t scare the next generation of college grads away from guns , who will support the anti gun side ? They are already losing women and blacks.
Since the boomers are the most anti gun, and dying, look for a big push by the empire to strike back. They have to hurry before the gun control goes the way of drug prohibition.
Also studies show millennials as more libertarian on most issues. Even many economic ones. They only are ” left” on social issues ( gay marriage , legal drugs etc). They also tend to support “safety net” type benifits BUT that support drops as they earn more and have to pay for them.
They do have bad numbers on free speech but maybe not as bad as sometimes reported. The next generation after them are showing signs of push back against the PC movement.
“Interesting. I have not heard of any colleges, in any state, having any “incidents”.”
Who bleats the loudest about ‘school shootings’?
The ‘Demanding Mommies’, of course…
It’s obvious: the people that cause gun violence do not care about gun laws.
We should pass a law REQUIRING them to care!
Video games were the enemy over 20 years ago. Now they have saved the second amendment. This was the “education” the future gun owners needed.
You know, as much as I hate giving credit or discredit to video games, I gotta agree with you on this point. It certainly isn’t the only answer, but I guess when so many of us cut our teeth on DOOM and Golden Eye and then Battlefield and COD as time went on, it was only a matter of time before folks started to think, “man I got to get me one of these.”
Growing up shooting didn’t hurt either
If COD makes 2a proponents out of youths, I’d say public school computer labs must be forging the future militias of America.
As much as I hate to give any kind of credence to COD, I attribute the salvation of “assault weapons” to it by far. Any thing that gets spreads the word that “gunz r kool” to the masses is fine by me.
“Video games were the enemy over 20 years ago. Now they have saved the second amendment. This was the “education” the future gun owners needed.”
Chris, you will never know how right you are on that. I’ve been preaching that for *years* now.
Who was it who said “The capitalists will sell us the rope we will hang them with.”?
First-person shooters and Hollywood action movies are the gateway drug of freedom…
“…they believe civilians should have the right to own assault weapons…”
Excuse me? As an American and a human being, I already have that right, its just not respected as it should be.
“…when Bible-clinging OFWGs finally stroke out…”
I’m a Bible-believing Millennial. Nice swipe at Christians, TTAG.
I think that was a swipe at our president, that bitter hater of “bitter clingers”.
I truly despise most of my generation. Not quite to the point of becoming a misanthrope, but close enough at times. One redeeming feature however, is the stirring desire for freedom. The availability of information that shows how free we used to be, and can yet be again. There is still a lot of shaky ground to cover on the road back to freedom, but we may yet make it. A bigger issue is all of this SJW nonsense. That will doom us all quicker than anything else.
I saw something interesting here stir a desire for freedom: Bonneville Power and the Forest Service got together and gated off just about all the good drive-in swimming holes on the major Coast Range river west of Portland. No one’s (yet) followed through on threats to use det cord to chop their fancy gates into scrap, but I regularly find new hiking trails from different parking spots to the old swimming holes.
What got a lot of people mad is that the claim was that they were blocking access for the sake of the environment when the obvious result is that areas which used to be green are now covered in heavy road rock and areas that used to be meadow-like and kept that way by campers are being taken over by invasive species. In addition, an annoying number of people no longer bother to carry their trash out, since whereas that used to mean just tossing it in one’s vehicle it now means packing it all the way back to where we’re all now forced to park, so one (very predictable) result has been an increase of garbage in the river.
Last month I noticed that some of that garbage in one great spot was shotgun casings, left right by the river.
“Whether it’s gun-based video games or mainstream media, [Millennials] know the difference between fantasy and reality.”
Hmm. Since Progressives operate on altruism, fantasy, and emotion, this would mean that Millennials are much better aligned with Libertarians. Go figure.
Better aligned than they know. I suspect this happens a lot.
And not only to millennials. I’m Gen X, never really fit in with the conservatives I grew up with, didn’t fit in very well with the so-called liberals I met later, either… Didn’t realize I was actually a libertarian (aka classical liberal) until about 5 years ago.
“Since the boomers are the most anti gun….” Like you millenials demand, please don’t broad brush us. Billary and company may be anti gun, but I would bet that most of the commenters on this blog are boomers. And from what I read here, more than a few us who were brought up in anti-gun or gun-neutral homes are now gun owners and CCW holders.
And the perennial favorite, “who do you think passed the current laws?”