Posted on 11/20/2011 2:57:06 AM PST by marktwain
MARTINSBURG, W.Va.— About a dozen gun enthusiasts picketed Friday afternoon in front of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, but their real target was Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely.
Friday's picketers, all of whom wore guns, openly and concealed, belong to the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a legislative lobbying group. They contend that the Second Amendment and West Virginia law gives them the right to carry guns on college and university campuses.
The issue stemmed from the October arrest of Joshua Lee Beck, 26, a Blue Ridge Community and Technical College student and former Martinsburg correctional officer, who allegedly repeatedly violated the school's rules limiting the possession of firearms on campus.
A sign on the school's main entrance reads: "No firearms or weapons allowed on this property."
West Virginia law bans guns from elementary, secondary and vocational technical schools, but it's vague on banning them at colleges and universities, Games-Neely said.
Games-Neely said she had to reduce the felony charges against Beck to misdemeanors because higher education institutions are not specifically included in the law banning possession of deadly weapons. She sent a letter asking state legislators to review and strengthen the law so guns can be banned from campuses. Exemptions would be made for ROTC and other special training programs and events, she said.
Art Thomm, 34, of Martinsburg, a West Virginia Citizens Defense League spokesman, said Friday that if he walked armed into Blue Ridge Community and Technical College and was stopped by a security guard or sworn campus police officer, "I would tell the officer that he was wrong, that he didn't know the law. If I went in anyway, I could not be arrested for carrying a gun, only for trespassing."
He said his group chose to picket the school Friday "because it's open today."
(Excerpt) Read more at herald-mail.com ...
I get suspicious of this kind of behavior, even when I agree with what's said....don't ask me why, I just do. It's ok for me to feel this way, isn't it? It just makes me curious about a person's motives when I see this. It makes me step back and wonder, that's all.
Don't get me wrong, mt. I like firearms; and we in Canada also love all varieties of wildlife.....right next to the mashed potatoes!
Oh FGS!
Just do a search on Mark’s name..........
Get a life.
I wish I could figure a way to be paid for this ;-)
I tried to understand how our political system became so out of whack with reality, and came to see that it was because of the overwhelming domination of the MSM by one political philosophy, Progressivism.
I have been passionate about firearms and freedom for fourty years. It is one of the clearest areas of political bias in media reporting in the world. I did not see anyone posting stories about defensive use of firearms, political news about firearms, and activism by gun owners in an organized way. I thought someone needed to do it, so I have been. I welcome all the help I can get.
Thanks for your observation. In the last three years I have posted more than 5,000 articles. I have even written a few.
Seeing that you’re an independent, concerned citizen....please accept my humble apology. I must be getting paranoid. So many “professional” advocates posting these days, things blur after a while.
No apology necessary. Skepticism is a virtue.
I see nothing wrong with making money while doing the right thing. People who are passionate about what they make their living at are fortunate indeed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.