Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

More Drama on Campus as Another College Professor Resorts to Theatrics to Protest Campus Carry

Friday, September 1, 2017

More Drama on Campus as Another College Professor Resorts to Theatrics to Protest Campus Carry

Continuing this week’s theme of campus absurdities, we have yet another college professor who has taken to wearing body armor to protest campus carry by law-abiding students. This week, it’s Kevin Willmott, a film and media studies instructor at the University of Kansas. Student news site Kansan.com reported that Williams appeared for the first day of classes this semester wearing a “bulletproof vest” to protest a Kansas campus carry law that took effect in July. “Try to forget that I’m wearing a vest, and I’ll try to forget that you could be packing a .44 magnum,” Willmott told his students.

In a lengthy discussion with Kansan.com, Willmott wove a complicated web of accusations and complaints concerning the new law. First, he took issue with the fact that only concealed handguns are protected. “It’s kind of a don’t ask, don’t tell kind of a policy, and so, you’re just kind of expected to forget that they’re probably there,” he stated. “And in that sense, you’re kind of living in a lie.”

Contradictorily, he then went on to argue that concealed handguns of which people were unaware would nevertheless “puts a damper on free speech for everyone.” This was the same theory college professors from the University of Texas unsuccessfully raised in a bid to have a federal court block the Lone Star State’s campus carry law from taking effect. There, the court held that the professors’ “subjective fear” that an unnamed, unknown student would be moved to future violence because of a difference in opinion was based on “mere conjecture” and did not give rise to a legally addressable injury.

Kansan.com said that Wilmott distributed a letter to his students, explaining why he chose to wear body armor to class. He complained of feelings of fear and helplessness amongst the student body and faculty. He also said that college students may suffer from mental health issues that could be made worse by the presence of firearms.

Willmott’s arguments basically devolve to the point that he does not like firearms and that he believes society would be better off without them. That opinion is certainly his prerogative, but in a country with hundreds of millions of firearms, it’s likely Prof. Willmott and his students have been in the presence of other armed individuals, whether on campus or not and whether they knew it or not. Guns are hardly scarce in Kansas.

The conceit that violent criminals respect “gun-free zones” is itself “living in a lie” and demands students ignore that the potential for their own victimization “is probably there,” whether they typically notice it or not. Recognizing the rights of law-abiding adults to carry firearms on college campuses, as they can in most other public places in Kansas, simply allows them to choose whether or not to confront and prepare for this potentiality.

Prof. Willmott, in other words, is so rigidly wedded to typical antigun orthodoxy that he cannot recognize the irony of his own arguments. His stunt, which merely copies that of a different professor at another institution who was recently in the news, is neither original nor persuasive.

It’s telling, though, that college instructors only took to these measures when the right of law-abiding persons to bear arms was recognized on campus. We saw no such theatrics after actual tragedies in which members of campus communities suffered at the hands of criminals who were illegally carrying firearms on supposedly “gun-free” university grounds. Like most people who reflexively favor gun control, antigun academics instinctively focus their attention on people who pose the least threat. The idea that firearms can play a beneficial role in protecting the innocent is one they are unwilling to accept, no matter the evidence to the contrary.

Developments in lawful concealed carry have always been accompanied by hyperbolic predictions of the widespread mayhem that was sure to follow and that just as surely never materialized. In that regard, Prof. Willmott may want to consider expanding his own horizons beyond film theory and studying a little history.

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

News  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Anti-gun Democrats Seek to Undermine Law Passed to Protect Veterans’ Rights

Last week we reported on a major breakthrough on behalf of veterans who risked losing their Second Amendment rights because of a long-running scheme by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report certain beneficiaries ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled for Floor Vote Today!

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on HB24-1292, the ban on semi-automatic firearms. Please contact your legislators today by using the button below and urge them to OPPOSE HB24-1292!

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Louisiana: Firearms Bills on the Move - Take Action Now!

A number of firearm-related bills, including enhanced preemption, are moving in the Louisiana Legislature. It's critical that NRA members and Second Amendment supporters get involved to keep the momentum going!

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.