Whereas, the people of the state of Tennessee have the right to keep and bear arms, and

Whereas, the Legislature has power by law to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime, and

Whereas, the students of all colleges, universities and technical and trade schools within the state of Tennessee are denied the right to not only keep and bear arms, but also denied the ability to wear arms for their defense, and

Whereas, as has been seen in such horrible tragedies as that which occurred at Virginia Tech University in April 2007 in which a student at Virginia Tech, Seung Hui Cho murdered approximately thirty-two people in cold blood, none of whom should have died, and

Whereas, had the students at Virginia Tech had the ability to lawfully carry firearms for their defense this tragedy may not have occurred on the scale that it did, and

Whereas, criminals such as Seung Hui Cho will never abide by the laws as set forth and

Whereas, the law abiding citizen is always on the losing end when our rights are denied based solely on the fact that we are students at a college or university or for similar reasons, and

Whereas, our right to defend ourselves from violent attack should not end at the door of a college, and

Whereas, the lives of students are no less important in a college or university classroom than they are in our own homes, or in our own cars...

Therefore, be it resolved that we, the undersigned do hereby request the Tennessee State Legislature to amend Tennessee Code in order to allow for the lawful possession of firearms by students at Tennessee colleges and universities throughout the state, and to amend Tennessee Code in such a way as to allow any student throughout the state who attends a college or university, and who possesses a license to carry a handgun within this state to carry a firearm onto college and university property if they so choose to do so. We the undersigned do further request of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee that the state preempt any attempt by law enforcement, or college or university boards, or the Tennessee Board of Regents to place unnecessary restrictions or restrictive regulations other than those as set forth by the Tennessee State Legislature.

The safety of all students requiring it.