(CNSNews.com) -- At a women's liberal arts college in the liberal, anti-gun state
of Massachusetts, something appears to be out of sync. A campus group called the
Second Amendment Sisters is lobbying for students' right to carry firearms.
The Mount Holyoke chapter of the Second Amendment Sisters (SAS), now in its
first year, is a recognized on-campus organization with a membership approaching
50 women.
Christie Caywood, the student who organized the Mount Holyoke chapter, said she
basically stumbled upon the Second Amendment Sisters at last year's Conservative
Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Caywood, now a junior at Mt. Holyoke, recalled seeing some SAS buttons while
attending the 2001 CPAC convention with her fellow College Republicans. After
participating in a hands-on firearms demonstration at the Smith & Wesson firing
range, she asked the SAS about bringing their pro-Second Amendment message to
her campus.
SAS spokeswoman Maria Heil said her organization was more than eager to help
Caywood start up a chapter. Heil said promoting self-defense on the all-female
campus of Mt. Holyoke is a priority.
"For many, many women, it's their first time out on their own, and it's the
first time that they'll ever be actually responsible or semi-responsible for
their own safety," Heil said. "They need to have this knowledge that there is a
way to defend yourself and it is that firearms are the most effective means of
self-defense."
But SAS campus outreach efforts are off-target according to Nancy Hwa, a
spokeswoman for the anti-gun Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
"I don't know where they get the idea that it's the number-one self-protection
method," Hwa said. "It's unfortunate that these groups are spreading
misinformation about the usefulness of firearms for self-protection."
Heil responded that SAS' main message to women is that self-defense is a basic
human right. "If your right to own a firearm is infringed or delayed, it could
cost you your life," she said.
"I'd assume these young women have enough sense to weigh the risks themselves
and won't get sucked into propaganda from an extremist organization," Hwa
remarked.
But Caywood, pointing to a "series" of rapes in the five-college area that
includes Mt. Holyoke, insisted that firearms might have helped the women fend
off their attackers.
Caywood believes that unarmed students are "almost completely helpless." She
explained that the only protection Mt. Holyoke's campus security provides is a
safe ride in a van for students who don't feel comfortable walking across the
wooded campus, especially at night.
"Why wouldn't they want us armed?" Caywood asked. "I'm at a women's college and
they talk about empowerment. We shouldn't have to depend on others to take care
of ourselves, and that's what it's left at right now."
Caywood, who does not currently own a gun, says it is highly unlikely that
students on the "liberal" Mt. Holyoke campus will be allowed to carry concealed
weapons or keep them in campus housing anytime soon, so she is trying to arm Mt.
Holyoke's campus police instead.
"If SAS can get campus security armed, then maybe we might be successful in
trying to start a campaign to have students be able to arm themselves if they're
properly trained and licensed," Caywood said.
Heil stressed that the Second Amendment Sisters organization is not responsible
for training these young women. "Second Amendment Sisters advocate firearms
safety education, but we don't advocate making it mandatory for anyone."
SAS says mandatory firearms training violates the Second Amendment by delaying a
person's ability to purchase firearms. "That's not going to help a woman who's
being stalked," she said.
But the Brady Campaign's Hwa considers that an extreme position. "Even the
National Rifle Association supports gun owners to get training," she said.
"If they're going to promote gun use, then the only responsible thing to do is
also to promote the training for the women or anybody that decides to purchase a
gun," Hwa added. "It's bad enough that they're spreading misinformation about
the usefulness of a gun in self-defense, but on top of that, to not even
encourage these same women that they're encouraging to carry guns to get some
training is ludicrous."
Caywood said although the SAS organization does not mandate firearms training,
such training is readily available if anyone chooses to take advantage of it.
"Everywhere we go there are people who are trained and can help train," Caywood
said.
She added that the "gentlemen down at Smith & Wesson" have been helpful
answering questions, and a local police department will host a concealed-carry
course for any members interested in attaining a license in Massachusetts.
"Whether people agree with us or not," Caywood concluded, "we all agree that
people who use guns should know how to use them properly." That's "one big
selling point to the administration and to the other students," she added.
While Mt. Holyoke is the first campus to open an SAS chapter, it may not be the
last. Michigan State University may be the next place to open an SAS chapter on
campus, Caywood said. Caywood said she is involved in the effort to expand the
group on college campuses nationwide.
|