Old Dude, some states don't require a permit for open carry. And how far do you trust a 20-year-old's judgment when it comes to guns, even on campus? Since Virginia Tech and other atrocities how many more youngsters do you think have guns at school? I'm sure there are even some parents who urge their child to take one along "just in case". The fact that it has not become evident is irrelevant- the first time there is a gun battle on a campus will be more than enough for me. I'll stick with my own judgment on this.

I'm not afraid of nor even suspicious of the well-trained person packing. Although I must say that if I were part of a group traveling on foot through a bad part of an unfamiliar town and one of us had a gun I swear I would not feel any safer. I grew up with guns and we never considered them toys, nor did we think of them as 'equalizers'.

My own feeling is that since the advent of cell phones there is a measure of safety that wasn't present before. How many muggers would dare grab someone when they're on an open line?