Editorial: Education alone will not deter crime

February 16, 2005
The (Ohio University) Post Online

By Curt Winzenreid

In response to Stephen Mette's letter in the February 15th edition of The Post titled "People need education, not weapons," exactly what type of education did Mette have in mind? For the recorded history of man, we have tried to "teach" members of society that murder and theft are wrong, yet they still happen every day in thousands, if not millions, of instances across the world. Obviously Mette has failed to realize that criminals don't follow the law. Criminals have no respect for the law and society, so why should they respect the right of an individual female to not be harmed?

The proper solution to the threat of rape or assault is to neutralize it by allowing females and males alike to defend themselves with the appropriate means. I do dare say that we should allow students to arm themselves. Regardless of what some people may have been told in some women's studies courses or in a self-defense seminar, most women don't stand a chance of defending themselves against a male attacker with their physical attributes alone. As Mette wrote, Ohio law prohibits the possession of a weapon on university property. I've advocated for more than three years that this inane law does nothing more than create a "victim zone" because only on a college campus is someone denied the appropriate means to defend themselves. I wonder why an attorney has yet to bring this blatant discrimination up as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

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I agree that education may be part of the solution, although I'm sure we disagree on what that education should entail. We should start to educate people on proper firearm usage and safety as well as dismissing the lies that guns are bad and evil. In all the claims that firearms are bad, I've yet to see a gun discharge on its own. In every instance of a firearm being used in a crime, there was a criminal with intent to do harm behind the trigger. In every household accident involving a gun, there has been an irresponsible gun owner who was the cause of the accident. Labeling guns "bad" or "evil" is no different than labeling a pen used to write racist comments as bad. Both are inanimate objects and are at all times under the control of their wielder.

Rather than blame the problems of rape and assault on society or "the system," we should hold the people who commit these crimes accountable. No one can make an intelligent argument that some adults are special and need to be taught that rape and assault are wrong and illegal. If you want to educate a rapist or murderer, educate them behind bars while they wait on death row.

I understand that many of the reported rapes on campus occur late at night after the female student has been drinking and might possibly be intoxicated. We prohibit someone under the law from operating a car when they are beyond the legal limit of alcohol in their system. The same rule and standard should be applied to the possession of a concealed firearm as well. When a person goes Uptown to get drunk they make a choice that requires them to walk home and be subject to the risks and dangers of that late-night journey. A two-ton SUV in the wrong hands is much more dangerous than a six-pound pistol in the same hands. However, we don't prevent college students from owning cars on campus.

Mette wrote that we should "teach men how to behave properly and teach women how to protect themselves." I agree that we should teach women how to protect themselves; I outlined above the MOST EFFECTIVE form of defense. While it would be nice if all men were law-abiding citizens, reality has made it ever so clear that crime and criminals are here to stay. Rather than "teach" men what they already know, let's start holding individuals accountable for their actions and quit looking at criminals as the victims.