North Carolina Is Latest Example Of Gun Free Zone Failures
via Reuters
(Reuters) – A 20-year-old man accused of killing his former supervisor at a North Carolina community college carried out a “calculated plan,” according to police, who on Tuesday said they are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime.
Kenneth Morgan Stancil III fired one round from a 12-gauge shotgun at Ron Lane, 44, after the Wayne Community College print shop director arrived for work on Monday morning at the campus in Goldsboro, North Carolina, police said.
The real tragedy in this case is that a man was able to walk on campus with a loaded shotgun, kill a college professor, and have enough time to depart the scene and make it to Florida before being caught.
By law, Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, NC, is governed by state funds. As such, it’s considered one of the few “gun free” zones.
“North Carolina General Statute § 14-269.2 provides that it is a Class I felony for any
person to knowingly possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or
other firearm of any kind, on educational property or to a curricular or extracurricular activity
sponsored by a school.”
North Carolina Firearms Laws, E. Areas Where Weapons Are Prohibited, 1. Schools, pg. 24
By Wayne Community College’s own law enforcement regulations and authority provisions, security officers on campus do not even have arrest authority. In the event of an actual incident, they are to communicate with local and county law enforcement to resolve an issue (Campus Safety and Security Report, 2014-2015, Campus Law Enforcement Authority, pg. 3).
Obviously the state dictating that it’s a felony to have a firearm on campus didn’t stop Kenneth Morgan Stancil III from bringing one. And with the local security forces unable to even have arrest authority to stop and detain Stancil – that professor never had a chance!
When are we going to have a real chat about firearms on campus? How many more campus shootings need to occur before politicians realize they’re only stopping law abiding citizens from carrying on campus with making community colleges and universities “gun free zones”?
It’s too bad for Professor Ron Lane and even worse for the myriad of other professors who are still there. They must know that in the actual event of someone coming on campus meaning them – or their students – actual harm, there is literally no way to stop it.
After the shooting, Stancil left on a motorcycle that was later found abandoned by law enforcement officers along Interstate-95 in Lumberton, North Carolina, Sutton said.
Police do know yet know how Stancil traveled to Florida, where he was arrested early Tuesday after he was found sleeping on a beach. He is being held at a jail in Daytona Beach and will face a murder charge after he is extradited to North Carolina.
That is the face of reality.
This killer had the opportunity to flee without being pursued. That’s how much time he had between coming on campus with a 12 gauge shotgun and executing at point blank range a member of the faculty. What we see here is a chance to have a real learning lesson.
We see that gun free zones do not stop criminals.
Why stop law abiding citizens with a concealed carry permit?
James England is a former United States Marine Signals Intelligence Operator and defense contractor with over two tours spread over the Al Anbar province and two more operating across Helmand and Baghdis. He is presently a writer focused on Western foreign policy and maintains an avid interest in firearms. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, he presently resides in New Hampshire – the “Live Free or Die” state. He is finishing up his first novel, “American Hubris”, which is set to hit shelves in Fall of 2015.
