FR EXCLUSIVE: Phone interview with Virginia legislator who proposed right to carry on campuses

Virginia House of Delegates 2007
Delegate C. Todd Gilbert
Member Since 2006
R - 15th District
Counties of Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham (part), and Shenandoah

In this time of grief over the tragic murders at Virginia Tech, I am grateful that Del. Todd Gilbert took the time to return my call and give me several minutes on the phone. He knew of FreeRepublic.

Gilbert is the delagate who proposed legislation that would clarify the right to carry law in Virginia. The general application of right to carry in Virginia applies to almost all places except, of course, places such as a courthouse.

On their own, the Board of Visitors on the various campuses enacted their own public safety rules that prohibited weapons on campus, even though a Virginia citizen had a lawful permit to carry. In 2005 and 2006 the proposed clarification of the law never made it out of subcommittee. Because subcommittee votes are not of public record, the public did not know who was standing in the way of their Second Amendment rights.

When Gilbert proposed the legislation, he envisioned the need for someone like a young woman walking late at night in the dark to her car to be able to have a gun for her protection. No one ever envisioned the slaughter that took place on April 16,

Gilbert would not go so far as to say what the chances would have been to save many lives had his proposal been enacted. "Certainly we'll never know," Gilbert said. "But we do know that the only one armed that day was violating university policy."

He has no idea how many people on the campus held right to carry permits. It is clear, however, that there was no chance to stop the killer when the good guys were disarmed.

According to Gilbert, "When a bad guy knows he is entering a gun free zone, it is setting the stage for bad things happening."

Gilbert is very concerned that the anti-gun lobby has jumped into this tragedy with both feet. There will be a greater effort to push new laws on the only people they affect -- law-abiding citizens.

As Gilbert recalls, there was one case involving a student at James Madison University that resulted in a lawsuit being filed against the university. Where that court case stands, he doesn't know.

It really is ironic when those in charge of safety at Virginia campuses proudly told parents and the community that "people will be safe now."

Gilbert is taking a low profile for now because he doesn't want to see anyone try to use this tragedy for political purposes. He liked the idea I gave him, but did not want to pass out signs to legislators opposed to the Second Amendment for use in their front yards. The signs? THIS HOME DOES NOT BELIEVE IN GUNS. Hmmmm, I wonder if those people would be a nice easy target for the bad guys.

VIRGINIA TECH MASSACRE State quashed bill allowing handguns on campuses
WND ^ | 4-16-07 | ART MOORE

Posted on 04/16/2007 9:13:03 PM PDT by doug from upland

VIRGINIA TECH MASSACRE State quashed bill allowing handguns on campuses College spokesman celebrated 2006 defeat because it would help make campus safe

———————————————————————————————————————— Posted: April 16, 2007 3:15 p.m. Eastern

Virginia state capitol More than one year before today’s unprecedented shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, the state’s General Assembly quashed a bill that would have given qualified college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus.

At the time, Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said he was happy to hear of the bill’s defeat, according to the Roanoke Times.

“I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus,” the Virginia Tech spokesman said.

At least 32 people were killed today at Virginia Tech in the worst campus shooting in U.S. history.

(Story continues below)

The proposal, House Bill 1572, was initiated by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, on behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

But the bill didn’t pass its first stage, the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety.

Todd Gilbert

Most universities in Virginia require students and employees, other than police, to check their guns with police or campus security upon entering campus.

Backers of the bill wanted to prohibit public universities from making “rules or regulations limiting or abridging the ability of a student who possesses a valid concealed handgun permit ... from lawfully carrying a concealed handgun.”

The bill’s sponsor, Gilbert, told WND that with today’s tragedy still unfolding, he is uncomfortable commenting and cannot assert the university’s policy in any way contributed to the shooting. But he said, nevertheless, it’s clear it couldn’t have stopped the attack.

“The one thing that this tragic event does illustrate is that there is not a single gun law, rule or regulation that will stop someone with this kind of evil intent from going about their business and taking life at will, if they are committed to doing that,” Gilbert said.

While advocates of gun control often believe they are improving safety, they are depriving law-abiding citizens from defending themselves in dangerous situations, he contended.

“Had I been on campus today, and otherwise been entitled to carry firearms for protection and been deprived of that, I don’t think words can describe how I would have felt, knowing I could have stopped something like this,” Gilbert said.

People who are willing to jump through all the legal hoops necessary to get a weapons permit usually are not people society needs to worry about, he argued.

The suspect in today’s shootings might have been a legal weapons holder, Gilbert said, but the law didn’t prevent him from doing what he did.

In the spring of 2005, a Virginia Tech student who had a concealed handgun permit was disciplined for bringing a handgun to class, the Roanoke paper reported.

Second Amendment groups questioned the university’s authority, but the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police argued against guns on campus.

In June 2006, Virginia Tech’s governing board approved a violence prevention policy that reaffirmed the school’s ban.

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