The College Fix

TUCSON, ARIZ. – Second Amendment advocate Katie Pavlich called for increased gun rights on campuses, military bases and across America in the wake of a shooting at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, that resulted in four deaths and 16 injuries, saying gun-free zones are akin to “gun-free death traps.”

“It is unconscionable that … a policy for all of our soldiers who are qualified to carry firearms overseas and on the battlefield are left as sitting ducks when they are on their bases and posts here at home,” Pavlich said during a speech at the University of Arizona on Thursday, one day after the shooting.

“How many people have to die defenseless on a post until there is a ‘reasonable expectation that life or [Department of Defense] assets will be jeopardized if firearms are not carried,’” she said, citing a military policy.

Pavlich is a Townhall.com news editor, Fox News contributor, and author of the book “Fast and Furious,” which details an Obama administration program that deliberately directed more than 2,000 guns across the border to Mexico.

Her campus speech on the Second Amendment was scheduled far in advance of the Fort Hood shooting, but the incident took center stage during her talk in front of an auditorium packed with nearly 250 people.

She said the Fort Hood shooting illustrates that areas that prohibit individuals from carrying firearms are “gun free death traps.”

Pavlich quoted from a soldier who was on base during Wednesday’s attack who stated that the current Department of Defense policy that prohibits concealed carrying on posts forces people to be “hostages” without a method to protect themselves.

Most universities also have policies that restrict students’ rights to carry firearms. But in the wake of the recent attack, the debate over the Second Amendment and students’ rights has been renewed, especially for female students.

According to Pavlich, slow police response times make it particularly important for women to be able to carry firearms so they can defend themselves against violent attacks by potential rapists, as opposed to other proposed methods of defense, she said.

“In other places, such as Colorado, university officials and democratic law makers have suggested that women use what I like to call the three P’s to fight off a rapist – pens, peeing and puking,” she said. “They actually think that you should projectile vomit on command if you are being attacked by a rapist.”

She added calls for stricter gun-control policies are highly hypocritical, and that the crux of the argument “isn’t really about the second amendment and fire arms,” rather, “It’s about control.”

“So if the Left and liberals really hate fire arms and the Second Amendment so much, then why do they act like hypocrites when it comes to arming those around them for protection?” she said.

She also pointed out that Federal Bureau of Investigation stats find hands, feet, clubs and hammers are used more times a year in homicides and to kill people than rifles or so-called assault weapons.

Pavlich impugned former CNN anchor Piers Morgan, a vociferous gun-control advocate who has gotten into Twitter disputes with Pavlich over the issue of gun rights.

“Piers Morgan prefers that all guns be banned for the rest of us, while he lives in his own protected bubble,” Pavlich said. “But Piers often forgets that we kicked out the British with guns in 1776, saved the British in 1812 with guns, and then saved them again in 1941.”

Pavlich also addressed negative stereotypes of gun owners, which she claimed has been propagated by “uninformed” members of the media, such as Morgan.

“America actually has two main gun cultures, and it is important to distinguish one from the other,” Pavlich said.

The first, most prominent culture has its roots firmly cemented in the founding of America and the country’s history, with “a deep respect for firearms,” using them as a way to celebrate American history through hunting, sporting and personal protection, she said.

This culture and the gun industry have contributed a significant amount to the American economy, she said.

“The multibillion dollar firearm industry employs millions of people and provides the government with billions of dollars in tax revenue every year,” she said, adding the industry was worth $37.7 billion in 2013 and provided more than 245,000 full-time jobs despite the stagnating economy.

The second culture, which has garnered the most attention from the mainstream media, can be attributed to “the breakdown of the family, lack of firearms education, and a missing respect for proper firearms use,” she said.

This attitude is what leads to gun violence and crimes.

“There is an overwhelmingly respectful gun culture in America, and it is one that should be celebrated,” she said. “The violent and disrespectful gun culture in America is one that should be condemned and changed.”

Despite the disproportionate influence the second gun culture has compared to the first culture, guns still have their place in American society because “an armed society is a polite society,” she said.

“Do more guns really equal less crime?” she asked. “The answer is yes, but it is important to point out that more guns in the hands of law-abiding persons and responsible people means less crime.”

The speech was hosted by the university’s Young America’s Foundation campus chapter.

College Fix contributor Julianne Stanford is a student at the University of Arizona.

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IMAGE: Main – YouTube screenshot-Fox News; Inside – Julianne Stanford