I'm not much of one for 'political correctness,' but . . .

. . . This guy really needs to learn a bit about "messaging."

Luong’s personal experience with robbery and crime in the U-District led him to create the Facebook group “University of Washington Campus Vigilantes,” with the intent to patrol the Ave with other students who had also obtained concealed-pistol permits.

Now I realize that the word "vigilante" can mean simply "one who is vigilant," but the more common perception in modern times is that the word refers to people who act as judge, jury, and all too often executioner.

Unfortunately, he's not done.

“After something like that happens to you, you get really paranoid … and having a gun helps you move on,” Luong said. “You feel safer … like you’re in control of the situation or have some control if something happens.”

Since paranoia is a psychotic disorder, characterized by irrational fear and distrust, that's really not the way to explain one's reason for carrying a firearm. Paranoia certainly doesn't factor into my possession and use of firearms, nor, I'd wager, does it have anything to do with the reasons the vast majority of peaceable, responsible gun owners possess them.

Then, he goes back to the "vigilante" theme:

“The police will never be there,” Luong said. “It will take them at least, like, three or four minutes before they can get there, and by that time, the robbers are gone. It’s all about taking the law into your own hands and doing the things the police aren’t doing.”

Wrong--it's not "all about taking the law into your own hands"--it's all about taking responsibility for your security into your own hands--big difference.

Luong thus gives a local "Only One" the perfect opening.

“I would not advocate the student utilizing a weapon without allowing law enforcement to respond to the situation,” Vinson said. “The response time should be relatively quickly [sic]; I would not advocate them taking the law into their own hands.”

Hmm--why am I not especially comforted by the thought that the "response time should be relatively" quick? What "should" happen, after all, often doesn't (see below), and you can be killed a lot more than "relatively" quickly. Finally, I repeat, this isn't about people "taking the law into their own hands."

Want an example of the "should be" quick response not being even "relatively" quick? Look no further than the article I'm discussing here.

Senior Luis Garcia, a concealed-pistol-permit holder and member of the former Facebook group, said that he contacted authorities after being robbed on Greek Row in August 2008 and waited 20 minutes for an officer to respond.

“I ended up getting the run around over the phone,” Garcia said. “There [seemed] to be a communication issue between the UWPD and the SPD as to whose jurisdiction the Greek system [was] in.”

If Garcia's assailants had wanted more than just his money and possessions, he would likely be dead now.

I'm with Luong on this, but he needs some guidance from Students for Concealed Carry on Campus about how to get his message out.