Mechelle Hankerson
News Editor
Reema Samaha was finishing her freshman year at Virginia Tech in 2007. Reema was studying urban planning, but was unable to continue.
On April 16, 2007 Reema became one of the victims of Seung-Hui Cho in the Virginia Tech shooting.
Four years later, her brother, Omar Samaha, came to VCU’s campus with a group of Reema’s friends to advocate against allowing guns on campus as part of the Students for Gun Free Schools group during a rally held by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
“I’ve (always) been an advocate for keeping our schools gun-free and having schools step up security and come up with different preventative measures to prevent future tragedies like Virginia Tech,” Samaha said.
The VCDL held a rally at VCU last Thursday to encourage donors of the university to withhold donations until the university revises its campus weapons policy.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the VCDL, said concealed-weapon restrictions on universities is futile in protecting students and visitors.
“Our view is very simple: The good people are the only ones that follow the law and by putting up signs … all you’re doing is telling the good people … ‘You cant protect yourself,’” he said.
The VCU student group, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, helped organize the rally.
According to the group’s president, student John Allen, the majority of the group is made up of older, commuter students (to receive a concealed-weapon permit, applicants must be 21) as well as student veterans.
“We don’t advocate that the laws … that prevent illegal guns from getting on campus (be suspended),” Allen said. “No criminal should be allowed to have a gun on campus, but the fact is that they do. … As it is right now, only the (criminals) have guns on campus. We just want the good guys to have a chance (too).”
At VCU, taking weapons into a university building is explicitly prohibited. Carrying firearms, other weapons or explosives on university property is also not allowed.
“Right now, all the universities make their own rules and regulations, and they’ve chosen to keep guns out of classrooms and out of dormitories,” Samaha said. “We stand by that, and we think that that is a good measure to take.”
Samaha said one of the biggest concerns is the process to gain a concealed weapon permit.
In Virginia, residents who wish to receive their concealed-weapon permit can complete a state-approved course, some of which can be conducted online by a member of the National Rifle Association.
“We think that it’s a very low bar,” Samaha said. “If you even want to have this discussion, the bar has to be much higher, but at the same time, we think having guns in the classroom is a reactive measure. It’s not preventative enough.”
The VCDL has been rallying at other schools in the state, including George Mason University, Old Dominion University and Virginia Tech.
The group’s rallying efforts were partially motivated by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s statements earlier this year where he claimed universities have no duty to protect students. He also said university regulations have the force of law, but university policies lack the authority to restrict carrying concealed weapons.
Van Cleave said the VCDL will be taking their effort to the upcoming General Assembly session, where they will be presenting two bills, one which will aim to take away the power of universities to restrict weapon permit-holders.