Arm yourself with information on gun club vote

TO THE EDITOR:

I will attempt to set the record straight about SCB-94-242, and why people cannot seem to grasp the bill’s purpose.

The two pieces of reasoning behind this bill are the personal gain nature and liability of ammunition.

Personal gain is prohibited by the Student Code, as it prevents student groups from buying things like food and distributing them to members. You cannot share food with anyone else, so it is personal gain.

Ammunition works the same way. Just because you cannot walk home with your spent shells, does not make ammunition less of personal gain.

When I speak of liabilities, I am talking about the huge risk the University takes in funding ammunition.

Should something happen with the ammunition, we are held responsible (take a look at the Patriot Act).

The 87th Student Congress, which added in the ammunition provision, expressed concern about liabilities associated with ammunitions.

When the question “Should we fund ammunition?” is dismissed for the question “How much should we fund ammunition?” I find significant negligence on Student Congress’ part.

As to the student safety and security committee funding ammunition requests, they most certainly can hear and fund ammunition requests.

If the concern is where the ammunition is used, the committee should stop funding SafeWalk for walking off-campus students home.

None of the supporters of the bill are pursuing a political agenda (an allegation that usually warrants an ethics investigation). So please, stick to the facts.

Austin Root ’15
Student Congress