Cops Don't Take Harassment of Women Seriously—Especially Online | Time

This week, media critic Anita Sarkeesian was scheduled to give a talk at Utah State University. She abruptly canceled her visit, and not because other work interfered. The university received an email threatening violence “worse than the deadliest school shooting” if Sarkeesian spoke on campus. The university reached out to law enforcement, and rightly so. The ongoing cyber harassment of Sarkeesian had recently escalated: she received emails and tweets that graphically threatened rape and included her home address.

Alas, Utah state police were less than helpful. When asked if officers covering the event would do pat-downs or use metal detectors to ensure the safety of everyone attending the event, the answer was “no.” Their excuse was that Utah had open-carry laws that prohibited firearm searches.

Would the state police tell a bigwig CEO, U.S. Senator, or the President that state laws stood in the way of security efforts at a university talk in the wake of a clear and specific threat of violence? I doubt it.