Campus
Safety Act Leaves Out the, um, Safety Part
By Chuck Muth, president, Citizen Outreach
August 7, 2014
Words: 461
A group of U.S. senators recently announced – with much
fanfare, pomp and circumstance - the Campus Safety and Accountability Act for
the expressed purpose of fighting “sexual assaults on college and university
campuses by protecting and empowering students, and strengthening
accountability and transparency for institutions.”
According to the press release from one senator, the
bill will…
1. Require
colleges to “designate Confidential Advisors who will serve as a confidential
resource for victims of assaults committed against a student” (after the
assault has taken place).
2. Provide
training to college personnel on how to handle “sexual assault investigations
and disciplinary processes” (after the sexual assault has taken place).
3. Require
colleges to conduct a survey of students “about their experience with sexual
violence to get an accurate picture of this problem” (after sexual assaults
have taken place).
4. Require
colleges “to use a uniform process for campus disciplinary proceedings” and
“enter into memoranda of understanding with all applicable local law
enforcement agencies to clearly delineate responsibilities and share
information” (after sexual assaults have taken place).
5. Imposes
penalties on colleges “that don’t comply with certain requirements under the
bill” (after sexual assaults have taken place).
“We should never accept the fact that women are at a
greater risk of sexual assault as soon as they step onto a college campus,”
declared Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). “Students deserve real safety and
accountability instead of empty promises.”
“To curb these crimes,” added Sen. Claire McCaskill
(D-MO), “students need to be protected and empowered.”
But, um, did you notice what’s missing in the
bill? Yep, provisions to, you know,
actually “protect and empower” students to prevent sexual assault in the first
place!
Specifically, a requirement that all colleges and
universities allow students with valid concealed carry permits to carry their
weapons on campus for self-defense. Such
a provision would end the insane practice of disarming responsible, adult
concealed-carry holders the minute they step onto a college or university
campus.
Concealed carry permit holders such as Amanda
Collins who was forced to leave her legally registered weapon at home rather
than have it with her when James Biela brutally raped her on the parking garage
floor at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) in 2007.
Had Collins been “empowered” to carry her weapon for
self-defense, maybe she would have been able to prevent the sexual assault,
negating any need for hiring “Confidential Advisors” and filling out a lot of “accountability”
paperwork.
Indeed, the Campus Safety and Accountability Act is
all about closing the proverbial barn door after the horse is already out and
nothing about providing safety before the fact.
On the other hand, the bill will certainly make a
lot of people feel good. And, heck,
isn’t that what Congress is really all about anyway?
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(Mr.
Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a conservative grassroots advocacy
organization. He can be reached at www.MuthsTruths.com)
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