Letter to the Editor 10/14

To the Editor,

I wanted to write a response to the Oct. 12 editorial, “Smart thinking: No… To the Editor,

I wanted to write a response to the Oct. 12 editorial, “Smart thinking: No guns at Pitt.” There was a large amount of misinformation in this piece, so I wanted to clear up the inconsistencies quote by quote.

“…in short, we are glad Pitt has a strict no-gun policy, regardless of permit.”

Pennsylvania issues a License to Carry Firearms, not a permit. And yes, semantics are important.

“It’s true that those who will commit crimes in the first place won’t give Pitt’s policy a second thought, but we think giving every individual with a permit the right to carry a gun on campus would do more harm than good.”

The reason Seung-Hui Cho’s Virginia Tech massacre was so devastating was that he knew anyone besides an officer was unarmed.

“When those weapons are in the hands of college students and not professionals, the odds of safety look dismal.”

Many people in law enforcement are not firearm enthusiasts. They qualify on their issued duty weapon once or twice a year and forget about it. The idea that everyone in that community is an expert marksman is untrue.

“Imagine a gunshot reverberating through your freshman dorm.”

In the state of Pennsylvania, Licenses to Carry Firearms are issued to individuals who are at least 21 and not restricted by law to posses them. Only a tiny minority of students in dorms would qualify for an LTCF. In addition, Pitt could still enact a “no firearms in the dorms” policy.

Thank you,

Joshua Henschel

Senior, School of Arts and Sciences