On Feb. 24, Senators Vick and Nonini posted an article to The Press and the Spokesman Review, in which they explain their support of SB 1254 “Campus Carry.” People reading the article will probably agree; it seems logical and straightforward; retired officers and trained firearms owners backing up our police on college campuses. However, on closer examination the senators repeat numerous inaccuracies attributed to Clayton Cramer, a Boise area adjunct professor who also addressed the Senate committee in support of SB 1254.

According to their assessment, concealed weapons carrier (CWC) outcomes are mostly positive, therefore “Senate Bill 1254 ‘Campus Carry’ is right for the State of Idaho and our college campuses.”

Like HB 247 before it, SB 1254 is actually another waste of time and an attempt to social engineer the great state of Idaho. The senators are not listening to the public, to local city officials, police departments or to the colleges which are traditionally responsible for their own campus security issues.

How is it that our legislators find time for religiously motivated bigotry and wrestling control from local colleges, while they give lip service to Idaho’s anemic economic standing? Idaho is in an economic pickle which state government had a large hand in creating. Our economic luster has diminished greatly since the ‘90s, because state government fails to invest in what’s necessary to attract technical and professional employment opportunities paying average to above average wages and which might keep Idaho’s kids home after college. Simply cutting corporate taxes doesn’t even make bait when it comes to serious economic investment anymore.

On the outside, Senate Bill 1254 might seem to further protect the rights of law abiding firearms owners. However, look closer because SB 1254 takes away the “rights” of our public institutions and venues to use their own best judgment where matters of public safety are concerned. This seems to contradict the message our far right Senators are always preaching about how we must protect ourselves from overzealous government taking our rights away one law at a time.

As for the accuracy of the article by Senators Vick and Nonini, if SB 1254 is good for Idaho, why are they misrepresenting CWC events? Why are they not telling us about the conclusions and recommendations contained in the FBI white paper on active shooter situations? Why were they untruthful about the Clackamas Mall shooter who actually committed suicide, that off-duty officers captured the VA Law School gunman after he was out of ammunition and gave up, or that Jeanne Assam was a security guard and on duty at New Life Church when the shooting took place, or that she was also a former police officer?

These omissions of fact are not harmless; they point to a much bigger problem with our state government, which it seems is more interested in social engineering than it is about creating opportunities for the citizens of this state. Please, read the “FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.” It is a detailed and informative paper, covering the nature of mass shooting events, law enforcement response, training and preparedness. The writers clearly do not support expanding CWC laws, they stress education and training on what to do in the three or more minutes it takes for officers to arrive. Read the entire paper at: http://leb.fbi.gov/2014/january/active-shooter-events-from-2000-to-2012

REID HARLOCKER

Hayden