Interesting goings-on at Virginia Tech

A couple of letters in Collegiate Times in Blacksburg, VA. The first is short and to the point, and I'll copy the whole thing here (boldface emphasis mine):

Regarding the story "Faculty demonstrates concern over concealed weapons" (CT, April 15), Easterling and other faculty seem quite concerned that students with concealed handgun permits are exercising their Constitutional rights.

CHP holders have voluntarily subjected themselves to criminal background checks with favorable results. As far as I can tell, the university does not routinely conduct any background checks on students it admits.

I find it curious that the faculty is more concerned about the students who have proven themselves good citizens than it is about those students who may be hiding their own violent histories.

Letter #2 is much longer and full of interesting legal details, and should be read in full. Here's the intro:

My name is David Briggman. I'm a 41-year-old stay-at-home dad for my two boys, both under four, and I'm a full-time college student. I'm a former police officer who was charged with the enforcement of state, federal and military laws here in Virginia. I also have a concealed handgun permit.

Unfortunately, most people believe that this issue is about firearms, but it's really not. It's about holding government accountable to its own law. After all, why should the government expect us to obey its laws if it can't even abide by its own?