BLACKSBURG -- A weapons dealer who sold a gun used in last year's Virginia Tech massacre came to campus yesterday to argue that letting college students carry concealed weapons is the best way "to get serious" about stopping killers.

Eric Thompson owns the online store TGSCOM Inc. of Green Bay, Wis., which sold killer Seung-Hui Cho a .22-caliber handgun, one of two guns Cho used. At the end of Thompson's 45-minute speech last night to about 60 of Tech's roughly 26,000 students, he was warmly applauded.

"I'm standing up for what I believe in, and more importantly, I'm trying to save lives," said Thompson, whose company also sold two 9 mm Glock magazines to the gunman who killed five people at Northern Illinois University in February. "There's people right now who are preparing to come into classes and kill as many people as possible and then kill themselves."

Thompson's visit came the week after the anniversary of Cho's April 16, 2007, massacre of 32 students and teachers. Thompson was invited by the Tech chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. Tech does not allow students to bring weapons to school.

Fearing that Thompson's visit might spark protests, campus police kept their afternoon shift on the job late and brought the evening shift in early, putting about 20 officers in and around Whittemore Hall, where Thompson spoke. However, no opposition showed up.

The Students for Concealed Carry group, which claims about 200 members at Tech and 25,000 members in the United States, wants state laws and college rules relaxed to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campuses, arguing that armed students are a good way to keep killers from racking up large body counts.

"It's a nationwide protest, if you will, a people's protest," said student Ken Stanton, head of the Tech chapter.

"For people who want to arm themselves, there shouldn't be policies in place to stop that," Thompson said.

Thompson's visit was condemned by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

"He's trying to sell more guns," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign. "He couldn't buy this kind of publicity. It's amazing that anybody brings him anywhere to speak."

Helmke said allowing students to carry concealed guns is a bad idea because campuses are stressful environments where weapons could easily be stolen or misused.

"Having more guns there just makes it more dangerous," he said. "Let's keep the guns away from people who are dangerous, and if there are concerns about security on campus, let's get more security officers."

Thompson, though, called students responsible adults and said that sometimes individuals have to depend on themselves alone to thwart killers.

"We need to get serious as a country and as a university to make sure we're prepared to stop them," he said.
Contact Rex Bowman at (540) 344-3612 or rbowman@timesdispatch.com