Michael M. Guzman

“For gun rights activists who have spent many years, even decades, in defending and promoting the individual Second Amendment civil right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms, it is most gratifying and encouraging to realize that there are young citizens who are ready, willing and able to bring their dedication and enthusiasm and combine it with our experience in continuing this never ending battle to maintain our freedom,” said John M. Snyder, CCRKBA Public Affairs Director.
“In this spirit, I am happy to nominate Michael M. Guzman as CCRKBA Gun Rights Defender of the Month for September. He is a most articulate defender of our right to keep and bear arms, and already has demonstrated his tremendous leadership ability in promoting our gun rights. He certainly is most deserving of this Award.”
Born December 19, 1983, Michael, now 24, is President of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, www.ConcealedCampus.com.
Mike is a senior majoring in economics at Texas State University. He served in the United States Marine Corps from October 2002 through October 2006.
Mike’s development as a gun rights youth leader has a solid intellectual basis.
He told Point Blank, for instance, that, “as a 21 year old Marine, I felt that only the military and police should be allowed to own handguns, military style assault rifles and fully automatic weapons. I felt that only shotguns and hunting rifles for sporting use should be allowed to the public. I was very ignorant and ill informed at the time and this was only less than three years ago.
“A friend recommended a book to me that completely changed my perspective on firearms: Unintended Consequences by John Ross. It’s a roughly 900 page book that I finished in about a week. It caused me to learn more about firearms in a historical context as well as current academic research. I now believe citizens have the right to own all classes of firearms.”
When a madman went on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech on April 16 last year and killed 33 people, himself included, the issue of guns on campuses throughout the United States erupted into one of the most hotly debated domestic controversies in recent years.
As Mike Guzman tells it, “the day of the Virginia Tech shooting, I was in between classes at a computer lab and saw that there had been a shooting. I did not pay much attention. All day, I heard other students talking about the shooting but I didn’t really care. I felt it was just another school shooting and not that big of a deal. It was not until the day after that I realized the magnitude of this shooting and I was shocked – not so much shocked by the death toll, but shocked because I had become desensitized to school shootings to believe they were not all that newsworthy. I saw a news story about the newly created Students for Concealed Carry on Campus and I joined immediately.”
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) is a national, non-partisan grassroots organization of over 30,000 college students, college faculty members, parents of college students and concerned citizens (about 90 percent college students and 10 percent faculty, parents and concerned citizens) who support the right of concealed handgun license holders to carry concealed handguns on college campuses.
In the wake of recent school shootings, such as the massacre at Virginia Tech, SCCC contends it is now abundantly clear that “gun free zones” serve to disarm only those law-abiding citizens who might be able to mitigate such tragedies.
SCCC has two main objectives. The first objective is to educate the public about the facts of concealed carry and dispel the many myths about concealed carry. The second objective is to push state legislatures and school administrations to grant concealed handgun license holders the same right – the right to carry concealed handguns – on college campuses that these license holders currently enjoy at most other places.
“Some time after joining SCCC,” Mike tells Point Blank, “I became a director of the board and eventually was elected our first President. Sadly, I must resign in the coming months. I’ve been recalled to active duty with the Marine Corps and must report on January 5 to serve a tour in Iraq. I’m not in the least bit bitter about being recalled. I feel that Iraq is a vital war and must be won and I am honored to serve my country again.”