gvf, drinking, drug, lack of maturity, & higher insurance premium
gvf said:
Well.....
I've taught university-students for years. In the long run - while a godsend for situations like VirginiaT - college students Carrying?.....well, I don't think it's a good idea in the long run and would likely cause regular shootings. It's an environment where youth for the first time are unsupervised, living in close-quarters with one to three roomates (and there are frequent problems between them), drinking to incredible excess at times or doing drugs in some cases - (and some have real problems with alcohol) and also learning for the first time what "true love" is (which of course it isn't) and its concomitant severe mood swings, jealousies, intense anger over rejections etc - plus the difficuties some have - very severe - with newly diagnosed psychotic mental illnesses (this is the age they "present")- and of course there are all the difficulties a good number can have with academics and the great stress this can cause; throw handguns into the middle of all that and......
For similar reasons, car-insurance companies charge an arm and a leg to insure this age-group - not real stable age.
An important point if you're in your late fourties and, more so, in your 50s, is that the age of maturity is continually being pushed back - and freshman and sophmores are more akin to what we were in mid-high school. They really are kids for awhile in many cases. I and many faculty have noted this the last few years. You may have an image of yesteryear in terms of maturity-levels. They mature markedly in most cases by senior year, but it's not there often for awhile.
gvf,
1. my understanding is that fundamental rights based on natural law such as right to life, freedom of speech, self-defense, religion, etc. was not intended to be restricted based on predisposition of WHAT THAT PERSON MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT DO.
BTW, rights based on natural law are different from priviledges granted by the state such as driving license allowing one to drive, business license allowing a business owner to operate, etc.
2. People respond to incentives, including old and young, even children. Even people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs.
This is known based on the fact that people who commit crimes change their behavior by shifting their preferences from personal to property crimes when potential victims are likely to be armed.
3. When data from the days of Wild West was examined (when both drinking and being armed was common), it was found that personal crime was relatively rare.
Similar pattern were found when crime data from old England was examined.
4. while it may seem related, insurance are bought as a risk transfer mechanism so that the owner of the vehicle does not bear the consequences of his/her action at the wheel IF AN ACCIDENT HAPPENS. The owner of the insurance reaps the benefit whether an accident happens or not, because consequences of a potential accident is now borne by the insurance company in return for insurance premium.
However, in the case of CHL/CCW, both the benefit and cost are borne by the bearer based on what he/she does, not based on probability calculated from underwriting process.
It would be easy to deny CHL/CCW to all males if CHL/CCW or any other rights can be denied based on what a person might do. For example, we know that most violent crimes are committed by males, hence, to reduce potential misuse, it should be denied to all males.
Similar argument can be made for denial based on lack of maturity based on some criteria, or denial can be made based on age due to deteriorating physical condition (possibility of having the gun taken away by the assailant or not being physically strong enough to retain the gun), etc.
5. I do know that I'm not wise enough or qualified in any way to deny others the natural right to life by denying them the means of self-defense. However, if you are that wise and mature, my hats off to you. You are infinitely wiser than I can ever hope to be, no matter how old or mature I get, or how much more accomplishment I achieve.
Best regards.
--John
. If it does... DUDE! 
