In response to the Tucson, AZ massacre and the recent Virginia Tech shootings, conservative Texas governor Rick Perry and several other state legislatures are pushing to allow students to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.
Their idea is to protect students from the threat of a gunman’s murderous rampage by allowing students to carry guns. The logic of this is as flawed as eliminating the legal alcohol limit would be in order to reduce the rate of drunk driving accidents.
Texas is a historically conservative state that favors its residents’ gun rights. According to a March 1 USA Today article, over 500,000 Texans have a concealed handgun license. To put this in perspective, the amount of hunters in the state outnumbers the total population of South Dakota.
Perry’s proposition is completely illogical. Colleges and universities are typically safe and highly monitored environments, and the permitted possession of firearms will not make schools any safer. Instead, weapons will be put in the hands of underdeveloped and easily pressured young adults.
Everyone knows that binge drinking and drug use are commonplace in college, and if there is anything to learn from the 2010 University of Virginia murder of Yeardley Love by her boyfriend George Huguely, students under the influence of alcohol and possibly other drugs can be dangerous.
Proponents of this legislation point to the state of Utah, which is the only state that allows students to carry concealed weapons. However, Utah laws are heavily influenced by the Mormon Church, meaning that drinking and drug use are nowhere near as commonplace in the state and at its colleges and universities.
Moreover, if a shooting takes place at a Texas university, students carrying guns would certainly react, increasing the death tolls and making it harder for law enforcement to maintain order.
If there is a shoot-out in a college classroom, and students are returning fire from an assassin and the police walk in, there would be no way to tell the good guys from the bad. The confusion may even lead police to taking out the wrong guy. In addition, it is doubtful that someone in the class could be as deadeye a shooter as the hero of a Western movie, or Pistol Pete Maravich for that matter, and have the ability to precisely take out a shooter.
With an increase in gun possession, even if it is concealed and only allowed by those who have a permit, Texas is returning to its roots as the Wild West, a land where vigilantism is encouraged. However, don’t be fooled by the romanticized elements of Western movies–this will lead to elimination of safety for students and teachers alike.