While the opening post suggests that this entry should be more autobiographical, the issue raised by the Richmond Times Dispatch April 8 is far too relevant to be ignored.
As noted in the cited article, the administration of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also known as Virginia Tech, has blocked a planned protest by the Brady Campaign to prevent Gun Ownership and their sister organization, EasyGuns(dot) com. The stated protests would have been the all too familiar “lie-in” (a better name has never been assigned). Speaking as an armchair pundit, this is a multi-faceted issue with a variety of perspectives.
First, I will state that any organization that would premeditate a political rally at a memorial service should be unilaterally condemned. This is, I’m sure, a very emotional time for the students and faculty of VT and they have a right, nay, an inalienable right, to reflect, mourn, and miss their comrades. Any of us who have lost loved ones recognize the power and emotions of anniversaries.
However, had the Bradys and the Easies been allowed to hold their protests, VCDL members would have ostensibly had the right to be there as well. We have, in the past, shown up for their events and have consistently dwarfed their numbers, overshadowing their message with our own. That being said, would showing up to counter their propaganda be the correct course of action? Is there a time when activists should not be active? I, personally, am in a bit of a conundrum on this.
The administration, in particular Larry Hincker, credited with stopping the Easy/Brady protest in the cited article, has in times past shown his colors on the issue of legally possessed firearms on campus. He lobbies hard every year against our efforts for allowing concealed carry on campus by CHP holders at the General Assembly. I was actually a little surprised by his blocking of the protest this coming Wednesday. Then it occurred to me: Did he think that we would also show up? Being unable to climb into his mind, I will never know.
The morality and ethics aside, I also must wonder, was VT within its rights to block the Easy/Brady protests? It has been the position of the VCDL that, on a fundamental level, the policy preventing licensed CHP holders from carrying on campus has been wrong because the University was “STATE SUPPORTED.” If that is our position, is it also fundamentally wrong to block First Amendment rights of protest on the grounds that are state supported? I hope our readers agree that the rights guaranteed by our US Constitution apply to all citizens despite vantage, viewpoint or position.
In other news, the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) have planned a second Empty Holster protest the week 4/21/08 to 4/25/08. This should fall within Hincker’s criteria of “student initiated.” We wish all fortune to our friends at SCCC in their efforts and we at the VCDL will continue to stand firmly behind their efforts.
For more info on the SCCC protest, please follow this link, scroll about half way down the page and click the appropriate links. They are far more prepared than they were in October when they staged their first protest.
Other bloggers talking about this issue:
UPDATE: The newly released VA-ALERT email newsletter has stated that the VCDL will NOT stage any counter protests, regardless of the actions of those opposed to us.
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VT TELLS GUN CONTROLLERS TO TAKE A HIKE
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Virginia Tech and its student body representatives have told ProtestEasyGuns.com that they, and their "lie-in," are not welcome on the Virginia Tech campus on April 16th, which is the anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.
Of course, that hasn't stopped the Easies and the Brady Campaign from planning to do so anyway. Angry, loud, and self-centered - that's the other side, alright.
But if your enemy wants to commit political suicide, best just to step aside and let Darwinism take its course.
As you might recall, Governor Kaine piously claimed to be "sickened" by those who would politicize their positions on gun control right after the massacre. He said such persons were "riding their political hobbyhorse."
So what's a Governor who says something like that going to do about the Easies' unwanted protest in the heart of Virginia Tech?
Condemn it as being tasteless grandstanding?
Not a peep from his office so far.
The Easies were angry at VCDL on Lobby Day because we counter protested them. They were acting as if they were having a memorial service instead of the gun-control rally that it really was.
But, ironically, the Easies ARE THE ONES interfering with a real Virginia Tech memorial service!
Will VCDL be there to counter protest the event?
No, WE will honor the wishes of the university and its students during their solemn remembrance of the fallen victims.
Godspeed, Virginia Tech.
Either way, it's in poor taste. If VT doesn't want them there, they shouldn't be there. And neither should we. I vote for honoring the wishes of the students and faculty of VT and allow them to hold their memorial in peace. There are plenty of other days for the political arguments.
It's funny how the Constitution is a buffet line of sorts in some contexts, and then totally ignored across the board in others. VT is ignoring the whole darn document. Rarely is it applied as a whole document, with the Second being the most often overlooked Amendment.
As a student, I have made the choice to avoid VT on Wednesday. I don't think there's anything there that will make me feel any better about it. Until they recognize my right to defend myself, the memorials are merely a reminder of what our school policy allowed for. I feel the loss deeply, and the community at VT will not be the same for a long time.
We, as humans, have our grieving processes as a society and individuals. However, it bothers me that the victims are treated as more deserving of remembrance than others who have lost their lives, including soldiers and sailors. Governor Kaine does not attend all of the funerals of Virginia's fallen military veterans.
These people were VICTIMS. The media have treated them as heroes. I don't think they deserved their fate, but I also don't hold them in elevated esteem. I respect the fallen, but they did not do anything special but die a tragic death. However, most deaths of young, bright and talented individuals are tragic.
I wish the media would leave us alone. We've been through enough.
Jackie Treehorn
As far as the constitutional question, there isn't one. VT is not barring them from protesting - it has long been the rule that the governing authority can require a permit, just for purposes of orderliness and administration, as long as they do not deny permits based on viewpoint or content of the protest. But for purposes of keeping the peace and safety, you wouldn't want to have the Nazis and the JDL on the same lawn at the same time - so they have to apply for permits so the university can schedule and allocate times and places. If the Easies/Bradys did not apply for a permit, they didn't follow the very simple rules to reserve the space for protesting, they don't have the right to be there.