Gun Groups Clash at Virginia Tech

Both sides of gun-control issue to hold rallies at Virginia Tech

A debate over gun control took center stage today at Virginia Tech. Gun-rights and gun-control advocates held rallies on campus.

About 35 gun-rights advocates gathered to demonstrate their support for concealed-carry rights on college campuses, the Roanoke Times reported. One of the signs they carried read: “Rapists agree, keep VT gun free.”

Some 30 feet away, 10 to 15 gun-control activists carried signs saying “No guns on campus.” That group included survivors and family members of victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings.

The sides are at odds over the school’s plan to bar concealed weapons permit holders from carrying guns in campus buildings. Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors will likely consider a state regulation to implement that ban.

Pro-gun group Virginia Citizens Defense League was on campus with the message, "no guns, no funds."  Similar to an earlier demonstration at GMU this month, the VCDL is urging alumni not to donate to Virginia Tech if gun carrying rights are restricted on campus.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote in a recent opinion that a college’s board must pass a state regulation in order to ban legal concealed weapons; a simple policy will not suffice.

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