To borrow from the late Neil Armstrong, as he stepped off the Lunar Lander, this is one step forward for the Second Amendment and law-abiding gun owners, and one step backward for gun-grabbing leftists.

Students, visitors, and employees at West Virginia’s public universities and colleges are one step closer to being able to conceal carry on campuses, thanks to a bill signed by Republican Governor Jim Justice.

As reported by The College Fix, West Virginia’s Senate Bill 10, now state law, will ensure that starting in July 2024, legal gun owners will be able to practice their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves from potential threats of violence. “Proud day for me,” Justice said at the signing.

Here’s more, via The Fix:

A West Virginia University student leader told The College Fix he is glad Gov. Justice signed the legislation and suggested some other ways the state can protect the Second Amendment and encourage concealed carry.

The Fix reached out to sponsors of the legislation multiple times in the past two weeks to ask for a response to criticism of the legislation and their motivation behind the bill but none responded.

However, the above-mentioned student, Nathan Quarantillo, a law student and Republican club leader, told The Fix, via email:

The Second Amendment is a civil right that has been too long considered inferior to our other rights.

Criminals will no longer be sure that a student going about a college town is an unarmed easy target, and this will likely have a deterrent effect.

Currently, Campus Carry is only allowed to those with a valid concealed carry permit. As West Virginia is a constitutional carry state, I would make concealed carry classes available to students so they can get a permit without undue hardship.

Yup, great idea, Nathan. Moreover, making it easier for law-abiding students and others to obtain concealed carry permits would make the gun-grabbing left howl at the moon even louder.

Needless to say, not everyone in the no-longer-hallowed halls of academia was giddy over the news. Officials at Marshall University and WVU opposed the legislation and said in a joint statement:

Dear Members of the West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee,

We write to share with the committee our thoughts on Senate Bill 10, a bill that would limit the authority of our Board of Governors to regulate the presence of firearms on our campuses. We understand that individuals, on both sides of this issue, are passionate about their positions and we believe that all voices are important and should be heard.

We, at West Virginia University and Marshall University, support local control, and we believe that our boards of governors are best suited to decide whether guns should be permitted on campus. We therefore do not support statewide campus carry.

Whether it is mental health challenges facing some students, discussion about grades, recruitment of new students and faculty, or the protection of open and honest debate of ideas, we are concerned about inserting firearms into these types of situations.

Uh-huh. Question: How would “inserting” legally-carried guns by law-abiding students who might run across non-legally-carried guns, carried by non-law-abiding bad guys be a bad thing? (Rhetorical)

Anyway, WVU student Olivia Dowler took her opposition to concealed carry a step further in WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper:

It is selfish for the West Virginia Legislature to ignore the countless pleas of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and parents. It is ignorant not to believe the data between firearms and mental health.

I’d say “You can’t fix stupid,” but that wouldn’t be professional, so I will again offer up a couple of axioms:

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” and, “For those who believe, no proof is necessary; for those who don’t believe, none is possible.” 

Hell, let’s toss this one in, as well: “Don’t try to win over the haters; you’re not the jerk whisperer.” 

Interestingly, though, Dowler’s last sentence was correct, for an unintended reason:

Conservatives and other Second Amendment advocates very much understand the difference between firearms and mental health. Hence, our rejection of the whole “gun violence” narrative. What is selfish and ignorant, is to ignore the countless pleas of students, parents, and everyone else who understands the left’s gun-grabbing “gun violence” narrative is a complete crock of crap.

The Bottom Line

To be serious, here, gun grabbers and Second Amendment haters are not necessarily jerks, of course, but again, no amount of data that runs contrary to their beliefs is going to change their minds on gun control.

Therefore, we must continue to educate the educatable and simply overwhelm the gun grabbers.

In the ballot box, that is.

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