Roseburg, Oregon’s Umpqua Community College, where a shooter murdered nine people and wounded many others Thursday, is a “gun free zone.” The college says this on its website:
Possession, use, or threatened use of firearms (including but not limited to BB guns, air guns, water pistols, and paint guns) ammunition, explosives, dangerous chemicals, or any other objects as weapons on college property, except as expressly authorized by law or college regulations, is prohibited.
Possession of knives with a blade longer than 4” is prohibited.
Brandishing weapons is prohibited.
Misuse of personal defensive weapons — e.g., pepper spray, etc. is prohibited. The owner is responsible and accountable for any misuse of these devices.
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It should be noted that, in addition to declaring itself a “gun-free zone” — turning the 3,300-student campus into what nationally respected Second Amendment author and firearms trainer Massad Ayooba called a “hunting preserve for psychopaths” — the school had but a single security officer patrolling the campus, and he was unarmed.
Yet, despite the fact that a shooter again hit a location that advertises the lack of the ability of people there to defend themselves, anti-gunners soon began using the massacre as a platform to blame guns, instead of the shooter. Jenna Yuille, whose mother was killed in the Clackamas Town Center shooting in Portland, Oregon, in December 2012, is such a gun control advocate and a fellow at the Everytown Survivor Network. She released the following statement after the shooting at Umpqua Community College:
Once again here in Oregon, our community has been torn apart by a tragic and senseless act of gun violence. My thoughts are with the students, faculty and families of those killed and injured at Umpqua Community College today. What they are going through and feeling right now is all too familiar to me. While we still have much to learn about the details surrounding this horrific act, it is clear we cannot, as a nation, sit idly by without taking meaningful action to end gun violence in America.
The New American will publish more about the tragedy as details emerge.
Addendum (October 2, 2015): On October 1, the day of the shooting, Umpqua Community College interim president Rita Cavin was asked “what your policies are for concealed weapons on campus?” She responded: “We have a no guns on campus policy.” To hear the question and response, go to 3:02 in the YouTube video below:
A graduate of an Ivy League school and a former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at www.LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics.
