Dear Editor:
Recently, the East Tennessean published words from Kenneth McDonald. His letter was a scathing response to the nationwide, student-based, empty holster silent protest. Specifically, he refers to the members of ETSU’s Marksmanship Club as “vigilantes.” This is ignorant and misleading. Out of the members of ETSU’s Marksmanship club, almost one-third of us are veterans or current military, including myself and the range safety officer.
McDonald assumes “the scenario” we are preoccupied with preventing is a VT-style massacre. Wrong! There are countless situations in which a firearm could effectively protect life or property. For example: rape, mugging, kidnapping, and theft. Each of these occurs on campuses nationwide, including this one. Also, McDonald deduces that having multiple armed “gunmen” on scene during a crime would slow down police searches. Wrong again. Those students could direct and even aid police in a manhunt. (Refer to the Charles Whitman incident. A bystander was armed and deputized on the spot to assist police.)
McDonald then imagines that armed students should wear “white armbands” to identify each other and to signify their concealed carry status. This defeats the purpose entirely! McDonald mocks the concealed carry regulations for only requiring a minimum “eight hours” of instructional time. Mr. McDonald, this is why we have a Marksmanship Club with a convenient indoor range on campus. Rest assured, all members of the club have well over eight hours instruction and everyone is welcome to come and train here.
While I agree with you that a “real shooting” is a confusing and numbing experience, I don’t agree that the pros are the only ones capable of handling violent situations lawfully. To do so, I would have to blindly ignore the thousands of incidents each year in which armed civilians, with much less training than you or I, successfully confront and deter criminals.
The purpose of the protest was to bring awareness to Americans in regards to the degradation of our 2nd Amendment. I, personally, wouldn’t mind all law-abiding citizens being armed. Mr. McDonald, we have both been exposed to a military culture where most everyone was armed. The suggestion that more guns equal more violence is absurd.
To conclude, I agree with McDonald’s sentiment that “scant training” isn’t enough. I suggest that instead of wasting money on the enforcement of restrictive gun-control laws, there should be more training and qualification resources available.
Respectfully,
Matthew A. JeffersStearn stands for truth

Dear Editor:
How can certain groups on campus be applauded for courage when they propagate any view under the sun, but when someone makes a stand for the Truth found in God’s Word they are labeled bigoted and narrow-minded?
Andrew Stearns is to be commended for a genuinely courageous piece. Andrew called me for advice the night before his article ran, knowing he would soon be the target of public criticism, knowing he would be a very unpopular person on campus. That is courage. Standing for the truth takes courage. I hope that Andrew has inspired God-fearing students to not be afraid to stand for what is right.
If anyone would like more information on what the Bible says concerning homosexuality, how homosexuality impacts society, or if you would like to take part in a group for people struggling with homosexuality, please contact me at Tim.Haywood@GraceMine.org.
– Tim Haywood,
Campus Minister, Central Church of Christ

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