Bob Beckel, co-host of “The Five” on Fox News, doubted the need for women to carry guns on college campus as protection because rape rarely takes place at institutions of higher learning anymore.
Mr. Beckel said, according to a report by The Blaze: “When was the last time you heard about a rape on campus?”
Another co-host, Eric Bolling, said rape on campus was “rampant,” The Blaze reported, and said denying women the right to carry at college was tantamount to an open invitation to criminals.
Co-host Dana Perino agreed with Mr. Bolling, that rape is a huge issue for women attending college. Mr. Beckel wasn’t swayed.
“Date rape, yeah that’s one thing,” he said, according to The Blaze. “But you gonna take a gun out and shoot your date?”
Politico reports Mr. Beckel subsequently apologized for his remarks.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Second Amendment & Gun Control
“It’s a horrible, horrendous issue. Simply put, rape is rape. Whether it’s date rape or it’s somebody coming in off the campus trying to rape somebody else,” he said, according to Politico. “I just want to straighten the record out on that. I simply was trying to make — there was not a distinction to make here. It simply was that date rape is rape, and that is, by any other definition, rape is rape.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.