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California college drops gun safety course to protect students, reduce panic and fear
Guns.com ^ | Aug 21, 2013 | Jennifer Cruz

Posted on 08/21/2013 1:43:11 PM PDT by Kip Russell

After six years of offering the non-credit yet popular NRA-based gun safety course, the Los Angeles Community College announced that the class has been dropped due to new restrictions set up by the school’s board of trustees. The Board of Trustees Vice President Scott Svonkin, who helped to write the new resolution, told Campus Reform in an interview Monday that he felt the school had no business teaching firearms safety, but rather the facility should have the responsibility to “promote gun control.”

“I believe that the NRA’s goal is to promote gun ownership, and that guns lead to deaths,” Svonkin explained. “So, not having the NRA teach classes, not having the NRA classes on our campuses, is a good thing.” “I’m much happier with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department protecting our students and our staff and our faculty than having some random person who took a three-hour class and thinks that they’re Dirty Harry,” he added.

According to the new regulation, “Possession or display of firearms of any kind shall not be allowed… The prohibition shall apply even where a firearm is not operational.” However, Svonkin also admitted that he was not even sure what “non-operational” meant. “You know, I’m not an expert in guns,” he said.

The regulation then goes on to explain that the decision was made due to “ever-increasing, lethal violence on campuses throughout the United States.” Furthermore, that “the presence of firearms, even when nonoperational and in an educational setting, lends itself to the potential for panic and fear.” “We should make sure that students don’t come to campus being afraid to run into somebody with a gun,” Svonkin said.

However, Gerry Koehler, who teaches the gun safety course – which incidentally fills up every single session and results in an additional overflow class – questions the motives of Svonkin and other supporters of the new regulation. Koehler expressed that the idea a student could “run into somebody with a gun” was ridiculous, especially considering that the firearms used during the course are stored in a secured and locked room and that the class is taught with the blinds pulled down, as to not cause alarm to passersby.

Koehler also said that he asked the college’s president, Dr. Kathleen Burke-Kelly, if he could use plastic model guns to continue teaching the class, but she said no. The new regulation applies to all nine campuses. The new regulation applies to all nine campuses.

“She said they are not allowed to even have the mention of the world ‘gun’ in their campus catalog, which I find utterly ridiculous and a total violation of the First Amendment … now this is a First Amendment issue,” Koehler said.

Burke-Kelly declined to comment to media about the new regulation.

However, the regulation does allow an exemption for “theatrical performances.”

Koehler believes that the board’s decision is not so much about student safety as it is about political opposition.


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: academia; alinskytactics; banglist; democrats; guncontrol; liberalfascism; liberalism; nra; scottsvonkin; secondamendment; svonkin; waronliberty
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To: Kip Russell

The fear of guns was hatched in 1968 with the death of Bobby Kennedy.

Now it has grown to be a monster.


21 posted on 08/21/2013 3:08:44 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
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To: Kip Russell

Dumb ass libs are 180 degrees out of phase with reality.


22 posted on 08/21/2013 3:11:14 PM PDT by Doomonyou (Let them eat Lead.)
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To: Kip Russell

Good thing for these people that breathing is an unconscious control.


23 posted on 08/21/2013 3:22:56 PM PDT by mowowie
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To: Kip Russell

The NRA should grab this as an opportunity to hold off-campus, non-affiliated classes, offering student discounts. Likewise, they would be under no restrictions as to what they can teach.

And best of all, they could prime the students to “cheek” these gun controllers by recruiting other students to join them. The NRA could probably make a few phone calls to local gun dealers to get student discounts.


24 posted on 08/21/2013 3:59:04 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Be Brave! Fear is just the opposite of Nar!)
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To: Kip Russell
“I believe that the NRA’s goal is to promote gun ownership, and that guns lead to deaths,” Svonkin explained.

The lack of critical thinking skills is amazing. How does this man function in life with so little brain activity? The NRA is interested in promoting responsible gun ownership, and responsible gun ownership can lead to deaths as with George Zimmerman. What he misses is that the deaths resulting from responsible gun ownership are very desirable compared with the alternative.

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/9273275/accused-rapist-shot-killed-by-victim CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - No charges will be filed against the Cape Girardeau woman who shot and killed a registered sex offender trying to break back into her home. Ronnie Preyer, 47, of Jackson died seven hours after being shot in the chest.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/08/01/police-armed-robber-killed-at-hamtramck-pawn-shop/ Police Chief Max Garbarino says it happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the Detroit Pawn Shop on Joseph Campau. “Three males entered the jewelry store in an attempt to rob the jewelry store, brandished weapons,” Garbarino told WWJ Newsradio 950′s Sandra McNeil. “The jewelry store staff returned fire, in which case one of the suspects was shot and passed on the scene.”

There are many thousands of such stories, involving "gun deaths" as a result of "gun violence", in which the deaths are the best imaginable outcome, far better than if the victims had been unarmed.

25 posted on 08/21/2013 4:15:37 PM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: Kip Russell
Here you go.....

26 posted on 08/21/2013 4:22:12 PM PDT by Kartographer ("We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.")
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To: Kartographer

Arrrgh! My eyes!


27 posted on 08/21/2013 6:23:24 PM PDT by Kip Russell (Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors -- and miss. ---Robert A. Heinlein)
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