Rules. Everybody has them. We all follow them. Well, most of the time anyways. Rules are set up to keep order, to keep people safe, to reduce chaos, and a number of other situations, but sometimes rules are meant to be broken. If not broken, maybe bent just a little.
So I hear of this story of Erik Fagan and Daniel McIntosh, two students that go to Gonzaga University that pulled a gun on an intruder to make him leave because he was trying to break into their apartment while they were there.
The story unfolds like this. A homeless man comes to their door. Fagan answers the door and the man asks for money but Fagan refuses to give the man any money, instead offering the man a blanket and a can of food. The man insists that he needs money but Fagan still refuses to hand over any cash. That's when the man became agitated and combative. Then the man tries to force his way into the two students apartment. That's when Fagan called for McIntosh to come help him with the man to try and get him to leave.
McIntosh comes to the rescue, only he was not alone. McIntosh brought his 10mm Glock along for the ride. McIntosh admits he pointed the gun at the man. McIntosh is quoted as saying, "I draw on him. As soon as he sees me, he decides he doesn't want to deal with me. So he takes off."
The two men call the local police and the university police. The police take a report and a short time later, the man is caught. So who was this man? Turns out his name is John M. Taylor and he's a six time felon. Although police have not fully revealed all of this mans crimes, they did say that some of his crimes have included riot with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful imprisonment. Oh and by the way, Taylor did have an arrest warrant from the State Department of Correction, typically meaning that he violated his terms of release. Yep, he's been to jail before. He's probably somebody that you wouldn't want to get involved with.
So what's wrong with what these students did? Well, the problem is that they had guns. But wait, we at least know that Fagan has a concealed handgun license. I assume that MCIntosh does too since he wasn't arrested, but maybe that has to do with home invasion laws, although I'm not 100% sure on that. The real problem is that they were living in off site campus apartments and had guns in those apartments. Gonzaga strictly forbids firearms upon campus property. Regardless of their intentions to ward off a six time felon and a home invasion, university officials say that they students should not of had the firearms in the first place. While it may be true, personally I do not see a problem with it. Technically, by having a concealed handgun license, they were following the law, just not following campus rules. Because of this Ganzaga is considering expulsion for the two students, but for now they have only been suspended. Gonzaga is also using this incident to re-examine it policy on firearms.
Here's my thought. I personally think that Gonzaga should allow firearms on campus apartments. Tons of students love to go hunting and do other activities with guns. As long as the person has a concealed handgun permit and no criminal history what so ever, then I think that this should be allowed. Who actually knows what would or could have happened to these students if they didn't actually have a firearm.
