Va. Tech, NIU Gun Dealer: Arm Students

Looser rules will deter school shooters, says man who sold to 2
Posted Mar 5, 2008 1:29 PM CST
Va. Tech, NIU Gun Dealer: Arm Students
A lone mourner at Northern Illinois University places flowers at a memorial for the five victims of the Valentines Day shooting on the campus of NIU in DeKalb, Ill., Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. The man who sold the gun used in the massacre says relaxing rules to allow students to carry weapons on campus...   (Associated Press)

Eric Thompson sold guns to both the Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech shooters, but he’s not apologizing for it. “I’m a businessman,” he tells the Los Angeles Times. “It’s a product.” But Thompson thinks he knows how to stop such violence: allow students to carry guns. “We know it’s going to happen again. It’s time to hit it head on.”

Thompson, who runs online operations from Wisconsin, is not alone. Like-minded enthusiasts are pushing legislation to allow guns on campus, and 14 states are seriously considering it. Gun-control advocates are appalled. “If a bad guy comes in, everyone always wishes there were the John Wayne hero in the classroom to respond,” said one. “But that’s really hard to pull off.” (More school shooting stories.)

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