A couple weeks back I posted about the self-titled “vigilantes†patrolling outside the University of Washington campus after multiple students were attacked.
The “leader†of this group made a couple of very stupid statements that, thankfully, appear to have caught the eye of the National Rifle Association, who have stepped in to calm them down a bit.
When he created a group on Facebook earlier this month with the aim of quelling crime around campus, University of Washington student Stanley Luong talked of forming a “vigilante” group to patrol the area.
The idea quickly drew attention — and criticism. Facebook, a social-networking Web site, removed the group from its site.
A member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) stepped in to offer a free training class on the legal ramifications of using deadly force. And a gun range in Kent supplied a room for the meeting Sunday.
By the time of the gathering, Luong had changed his message, and realized his mistake. “We don’t have plans for patrols; this is looking like more of a self-defense education group,” he said.
Luong said he realizes now it was a bad idea to use the word “vigilante” or suggest volunteers could patrol campus. The group has formed a new Facebook page under a different name, University District Defenders.
“We’re in no way affiliated with vigilantes,” Luong said. “I didn’t think about the consequences when I used the word vigilante.”
Rick Walker, an Olympia-area NRA gun instructor, held a free training session to six members of the group on how to get out of a threatening situation without using a gun, and the legal ramifications of using a gun in self-defense.
I’m glad to read that one of the first statements out of Instructor Walker’s mouth was along the lines of “Don’t tell people you have a gun and are out hunting muggers, dipshit.â€
Let us hope the UW doesn’t try to shut this down or ostracize students who decided to take this course or future courses on self defense. And I’m not just saying that because sooner than later I’ll be a UW student.