Group pushes for guns at colleges

Mar. 24--If Green Bay gun dealer Eric Thompson had his way, college students would carry more than just books.

In his vision, the next college shooter is thwarted by a student armed with one of Thompson's guns -- averting a massacre, saving lives.

Thompson's Internet-based business TGSCOM Inc. sold weapons to the shooters at both Northern Illinois and Virginia Tech universities. First, he said, he felt grief for the victims. Then, a sense of resolve. Not to stop selling guns, but to advocate for guns on campus.

"The perfect situation is that nothing ever happens like that again," Thompson said. " . . . But in a last-ditch scenario, you are able to protect yourself."

Now he is partnering with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group that next month will hold an "empty-holster" protest against university gun-free zones. Thompson will donate holsters to the group, adding a high-profile touch to a small but growing push for guns on campus.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, born after Virginia Tech, has grown to 22,000 members. And at least 14 states -- not including Wisconsin -- are considering legislation to allow concealed weapons on campus.