Concealed Weapons Advocate Suspended From School, Ordered to Have Head Examined

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Gun Safety

A student at Hamline University in Minnesota has been suspended and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation for advocating the carrying of legal concealed weapons on campus.

TownHall.com reports Troy Scheffler made the case in an e-mail to a school official that licensed gun owners could stop or prevent the kind of violence that struck Virginia Tech earlier this year. He pointed out that research has indicated the possibility of armed resistance discourages potential criminals. And he noted that many Virginia Tech students have said the massacre there would not have happened if the school had not banned concealed weapons.

But even though the school has a policy that guarantees students will be free to discuss all questions of interest and express their opinions openly, the dean of students says Scheffler's e-mail was deemed to be threatening. Scheffler was placed on interim suspension, which will only be lifted after he agrees to a psychological evaluation.

Religious Roadblock

The Muslim Solidarity Committee in Albany, New York is vowing to do everything it can to keep a local prosecutor from being appointed as a federal judge.

A local TV station reports the Muslims are upset over U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby's successful prosecution of two local Muslim men who were caught in an FBI terror sting. The men were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Muslim group claims the men were entrapped by federal agents. Their supporters have created an online petition opposing Suddaby that they plan to deliver to the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Suddaby has one powerful ally on the committee, New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.

Recruiters Unwelcome

Members of the Berkeley, California chapter of the anti-war group Code Pink are protesting the presence of a Marine Corps recruiting office by demonstrating outside it -- with the stated goal of shutting down the station and getting rid of people they call "military predators."

Protesters are carrying signs that say, "recruiters are traitors" and "recruiters lie, children die." A counter-protest was held Wednesday by about 300 demonstrators who support the military and say Code Pink's actions are uncalled for.

And national Code Pink organizer Dana Balicki is distancing herself from her Berkeley colleagues, saying, "many of us feel that calling a recruiter a traitor was not necessarily appropriate."

Taking Stock

An analyst with Goldman Sachs says news that Morgan Stanley has sold its entire stake in The New York Times has reinforced his opinion that investors should avoid the newspaper's stock. Morgan Stanley had been the paper's second largest shareholder with 7.2 percent of its stock.

One of Morgan Stanley's asset managers had unsuccessfully tried to get the Sulzberger family to give up its control of The Times. Media reports say the paper's stock fell about 2.5 percent on word of the deal, to its lowest point in more than 10 years.

— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.