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.