An empty-holster protester at the University of Tennessee

The Knoxville News has this article on the concealed handgun debate at the University of Tennessee. It obviously would have been nice if the article had mentioned the number of other students involved around the country with these protests:

Nathan Robinson is a lone ranger walking the University of Tennessee campus this week with nothing but a gunless leather holster on his side. UT students are split over whether the holster should be filled.

Robinson, a 30-year-old aerospace engineering student, heard last week that pro-gun advocates would be holding the silent protest this week across the U.S. and Monday he said he's the only person he knows of carrying the message at UT.

He plans to pass out pamphlets and to correct the misconception that "Western-style" shootouts would break out if students carried handguns. "We don't want to do this to police the campus," he said. "We're not police. We want to do this to protect ourselves."

State law forbids private citizens to carry firearms on university campuses in Tennessee and other states, even if they have a carry permit.

Freshman Drew Quinn, 19, doesn't think carrying guns around campus is a good idea. He said he thinks it would only lead to more violence. "If you have it, there's a better chance you're going to use it," he said.

UT senior Nick Bishop recently got his handgun carry permit and agrees with Robinson, however. He doesn't see the difference between having a gun on campus or at Wal-Mart. Bishop said there's nothing to stop someone from bringing a gun onto campus and shooting people, but if gunmen knew others could be armed, they might think twice about their plan. . . .