I'm the non-binary president of my university's College Democrats. But I am also a concealed carrier.

**Edit:** You guys are awesome. I got a lot of constructive comments and good advice from both chambers, and I appreciate that no one was being overly combative (excluding a few here). I am currently exploring other options and discussing them with my VP. We will definitely be taking a more active political stance on the issue somehow, and I appreciate you guys' input.<br><br><br>----<br><br>I am non-binary, queer, and president of the College Democrats at my university. I am also a concealed carrier almost everywhere I go, and my leadership team knows. Many of you see the title of this post and think "how could a member of College Democrats ever be a gun owner? Those people hate guns." Many members of my organization probably do hate guns, or at least hate people who carry. But I am currently in a dilemma.<br><br>My university is currently one of the most conservative in our state, and one of the only with concealed carry laws. The state itself has a very lax gun policy, but our university's College Republicans and some gun rights groups on campus are currently trying to push for an open carry policy. On top of this, several groups on campus including our (very conservative) student body government have tried to pass campus carry legislation that includes buildings and dorms. Luckily, our university's President has specifically stated that he will not allow this legislation to pass.<br><br>My dilemma is that I don't want to openly denounce these groups' efforts, because I know that this could make the campus less safe for students like me who are marginalized. I want to tell them that someone like me, a queer non-binary person with a long history of being threatened and harassed, needs to be able to defend myself. I want to tell them that even though I am liberal and a member of College Democrats, I have the right to protect myself just as much as they do.<br><br>What do you think I should do? I don't want to compromise my political beliefs or the safety of myself and other students by openly denouncing the efforts of conservatives on campus, but students like me have a right to defend ourselves too.