Holster-packin' students protest

Across U.S., 29,000 back right to carry gun at college

CHAPEL HILL -- The holster attached to Jason Blatt's hip all this week is small, black and innocuous.

It is also empty. Blatt, 23, is a second-year medical school student at UNC-Chapel Hill, and though he is licensed to carry a concealed weapon in most places in North Carolina, state law keeps him from doing so on any college campus.

By wearing empty holsters this week, Blatt and 29,000 other college students across the country are making public their belief that such prohibitions are misguided. It is the second such protest organized by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which has about 25 members at UNC-CH and about 300 at N.C. State. Blatt is UNC-CH's delegate to the national organization.

"I can carry almost anywhere in the state," said Blatt, a Hendersonville native and graduate of Vanderbilt University. "But if I walk across Franklin [Street] onto campus, I'm committing a felony."

Blatt was reared by parents he describes as "moderately anti-gun." Still, his father taught him about gun safety and responsibility early on. Blatt owns several guns, which he uses for target and sport shooting. He carries a concealed handgun much of the time when he isn't on campus, but occasionally he runs home and leaves it if he's headed for a bar, movie theater, or other public place where concealing a gun is against the law.

When he does carry his Kahr P40 pocket pistol, it is tucked in a holster in his waistband, further concealed by clothing. If someone asks about it, he deflects the question. He never shows it off. Yosemite Sam, he is not.

Blatt understands that many folks reflexively fear guns and, by extension, gun owners. But his essential argument is this: Properly licensed, responsible gun owners who follow the rules aren't the dangerous ones. "Someone interested in shooting up the place isn't worried about getting expelled or ending up in jail," he said.

The holster Blatt has worn this week looks like a cell phone holder. Still, he has gotten a few questions around campus. When asked, he produces a data-heavy fact sheet pleading his organization's case.

In the United States, just 11 universities allow concealed firearms on campus -- Utah's nine public institutions, a Virginia community college and Colorado State University, Blatt said.

On college campuses, officials often say they support current law because guns can present danger and because even knowledgeable, licensed gun owners aren't trained for a violent, tense situation where the use of force is necessary.

"Any good that would come would be outweighed by the potential for bad," said Randy Young, a spokesman for UNC-CH's public safety office.

Blatt acknowledges he doesn't know how he would react in a worst-case scenario such as the Virginia Tech massacre. But he knows he'd be essentially helpless without a gun.

"It would at least increase my odds for survival," he said.