A gun scare last week at Virginia Tech University has reopened a debate over whether firearms have a place on college campuses, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The campus went into lockdown for five hours and news crews converged there when three teenagers attending a summer camp there reported seeing a possible gunman. No gunman was found, but it brought back memories of the 2007 campus massacre.
Last month, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that a University of Virginia policy banning concealed firearms can’t be enforced. The opinion was criticized by Lori Haas, whose daughter, Emily, was shot in the head during student Seung-Hui Cho’s murderous rampage. Emily Haas survived, and her mother has become a full-time gun-control advocate. “It’s unacceptable, allowing the carry of guns on campus, concealed or otherwise,” she said.