On Aug. 1, 1966, State College borough council member Peter Morris was inside the union building of the University of Texas while the now-infamous Charles Whitman went on a shooting rampage that killed 14 people.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Morris relayed the story of how he waited in line at a pay phone to call his wife, unable to go outside without risking death.
“Except for the luck of timing, I could’ve been shot, I could’ve been killed, I don’t know,” Morris said. “But that’s true of thousands of people who could’ve been hurt. I don’t think God was watching out for me.”
Morris brought up his experience with the “American phenomenon” of mass shootings on Monday night because the council was considering passing a resolution that calls on the Pennsylvania legislature to give local governments the authority to ban guns on municipal property.
The resolution passed unanimously, officially calling on the Pennsylvania legislature to take action on gun regulation in parks and government buildings “for the protection of citizens and children utilizing municipal property.”
Although it passed with no opposition, Morris called the resolution “fairly wimpy” when compared to council’s original idea to ban firearms on municipal property outright. But since that idea might conflict with state law, Morris said a resolution calling for action from lawmakers was a step in the right direction.
“I don’t think the legislature is going to do a damn thing about this in the foreseeable future,” Morris said. “But I’m still voting for this.”
Council member Theresa Lafer, who has identified herself as a proud firearm owner in past meetings, also had some strong words in favor of the resolution.
Lafer said that it made no sense how few regulations firearms are subject to, especially when compared to restrictions placed on everything from automobiles to cigarettes. She also said this conversation was especially important in light of recent incidents (although “massacres might be a better word,” she said).
“I believe in the second amendment,” Lafer said. “And I believe we are abusing it horribly.”
Lafer attacked the idea that mental illness was a primary cause of gun violence. She said that people with mental illnesses are not given proper care and attention by public agencies, and that blaming them as the main cause of gun violence unfairly stigmatizes an already misunderstood and marginalized group.
“I encourage everyone, even the gun owners out there, to press for the reasonable regulation of handguns and a ban on assault weapons. We don’t need them in our homes,” Lafer said. “And if you’re really that afraid, then you are the ones who need help.”
