Friday, January 18, 2008

Damron's on-campus gun lunacy

Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville is surprised by opposition to his plan to increase the number of deadly weapons on our college campuses.

"I never imagined this was going to be a major battle," Damron told the Herald-Leader.

But Damron's lack of imagination is the least of his problems. In this case, his single-minded devotion to the National Rifle Association's wild west agenda yields a casual disregard for the safety of our students and the campus community.

Opposition from numerous (if not all) Kentucky university presidents lead to a blanket accusition from Damron that Kentucky colleges have become "bastions of liberalism." Oooooooooo.

But just how is Damron's brilliant solution supposed to work?

Damron fantasizes that he's protecting folks who work at the University of Kentucky who may be afraid of walking to their cars in the dark after work.

His solution is to put more guns on campus - while keeping the guns that might protect his constituents while they walk to their cars just out of their reach.

Or perhaps he envisions shootouts in the parking lot, where the issue isn't whether you have a gun, but whether yours is big enough.

If HB 114 passes, I'm thinking about sending my daughter to school with body armor and an assault rifle with a big clip.

Eastern Kentucky University President Doug Whitlock who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon told H-L that before he would support a change in the weapon ban, "I would have to be convinced that having firearms on campus contributes to safety rather than adding to the risk."

Me too. And I'm decidedly not convinced this move would protect my daughter, or my students, in the least.

To become law, the House Bill 114 would have to get past Kathy Stein, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who objects to "meddling in the affairs of the universities and community and technical colleges..."

Damron hopes to work around Stein. And began laying groundwork by bestowing on Stein the moniker "gun-control Sally." To augment his name-calling offensive he is bringing in a professional NRA arm-twister next week.

But Stein should shoot down House Bill 114. She should shoot it dead.

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