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Thursday, June 03, 2004
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3 June 04
To: Miss Manners, Washington Post From: Lars Larson, KCMX 880 AM Portland, Oregon SUBJECT: UNIVERSITY ETIQUETTE Dear Miss Manners: Hi! I'm Lars Larson, morning host of a very popular talk show out here in Oregon on radio station KCMX AM. I was recently invited to join a panel at a local university, Southern Oregon University, to talk about the first amendment. But it's the second amendment that I'm writing to you about. I don't go anywhere without my gun, and there aren't any laws against carrying a concealed weapon on university campuses around here, but when I told the university I planned to pack heat, they told me I couldn't come unless I left the gun at home. I feel real strong about this gun thing. If I may quote myself on my website: Some people have asked me why I don't just compromise and leave it at home. Should Rosa Parks have taken that seat in the back of the bus? She would have gotten home just as fast. The answer is no. She had a civil right to ride in front of the bus ...and I have a civil right to carry a gun. The thing went up to the vice president of SOU, who said the university reserved the right to keep guns off campus - even though I told the guy he was violating Section 27 of the Oregon Constitution and Oregon Statutes 166-170, which guarantee that I have a right to carry a hidden gun anywhere except courtrooms. Okay, so far typical gun rights dispute, you see a lot of that out here, especially with universities, which for some reason think they're special. But what I'm asking you about is whether you think the university was correct to do the next thing it did. The v.p. in a very public way said (I'm quoting from a press account of the incident): "The university has offered Larson an armed officer at the school's expense to make him feel more protected." See now, to me this is obviously intended to embarrass me - like it's saying nobody else needs protection in a college seminar room... we got lotsa little coeds with ribbons in their hair coming out to hear you and they're not slipping Glocks into their vests... but if you, Mr. Larson, feel too nervous to be among us without personal firepower, well, we'll pay for someone with a gun to protect you... See what I mean? To me it's like they're ridiculing me while seeming to be polite in accommodating me. So what I'm asking is, one, should I accept their offer of my own armed officer? Should I go to the event with my gun and not tell them (I mean, that's the whole point of "concealed," isn't it?)? Or should I stand on principle and refuse to take part in the whole event? Yours truly, Lars Larson *************************************************************************************** To: Lars Larson From: Miss Manners Dear Mr. Larson: The rule in matters of this sort is that you accommodate yourself to the extent possible to the customs of the institution that has invited you to the event. The university's gun policy may be out of compliance with the law, but they probably have some degree of autonomy in setting certain policies, and my guess is that the majority of faculty and students and parents on its campus approve of the policy. It is true that legally speaking you are probably in the right, but legality is not the only consideration in social life. I think you are right that the university's offer of your own private armed guard is a species of irony and intended to be a put-down. As to what you can do about this -- how many years of education do you yourself have? Are you sure you want to enter a verbal showdown with highly educated university faculty and administrators who can devise sly ways to make you look bad? In other words, I'm not saying that you have to take their disrespect lying down, but I am suggesting that you want to be sure that the playing field is relatively level before you initiate a war of words with them. Sincerely, Miss Manners |