gun control | Lorien Johnson

Concealed Carry on Campus

Posted by Lorien on Dec 8, 2011 in Activist, Blog | 0 comments

In honor of Liviu Librescu, Ph.D., and in light of the second violent shooting on the campus of my grandfather’s alma mater, Virginia Tech, I remind us all of the importance of legalizing concealed carry on college campuses. Dr. Librescu survived the Holocaust of WWII. He died shouting for his students to escape their classroom through windows as he used his body to block the door from a murderer. He was shot five times. After his death in 2007, the president of my undergraduate university published a reminder that no students, staff, or faculty were permitted to carry firearms on the...

The Japanese Failure of Gun Control

Posted by Lorien on Apr 18, 2007 in Activist, Observer | 0 comments

Itcho Ito, the mayor of Nagasaki, Japan, was shot and killed by a member of the Yakuza. Japan has the most strict form of gun control that exists in the “democratic” portion of the world. This is an example of how the law-abiding populace is not effectively protected by gun control, because criminals will find alternative routes to reaching their chosen goal. Meanwhile, yes, gun crime is low in Japan. This is what is sacrificed (quotes from Dave Kopel’s article in the Asia-Pacific Law Review, 1993): In practice, the special law for weapons searches is not necessary, since...

RE: University Safety Procedures

Posted by Lorien on Apr 17, 2007 in Activist, Observer, Scholar | 2 comments

An Open Letter to Dr. Michael T. Nietzel, President of Missouri State University. President Nietzel, I respond to your official statement on the subject of our beloved University’s safety procedures. I am disappointed by the reiteration of Missouri State’s foolish and detrimental policy which prohibits legally carried firearms on our campus. We have seen in Virginia the danger of such discrimination. As a student of Missouri State University, I have at all times abided by the stated policy in that I have not carried a firearm onto campus. I have followed this policy at risk to my...