With any discussions on guns and campus safety, there is necessarily a balance that must be struck that reflects the university’s adherence to safety. The university’s purpose and goal, above all else, is to ensure that students are protected from any harm that they might face on campus. Is it appropriate to allow students to carry weapons on campus? As a general rule, the answer to this inquiry must be no. There is a major caveat that must be accounted for, though. Because the ultimate goal of the university must be protecting students, the only way concealed carry should be allowed on a Texas campus is if proponents of college concealed carry can formulate appropriate security measures.
Research suggests that when guns are present on campus, they tend to make the campus more dangerous rather than safer. There is an argument, of course, that by banning guns from campuses, one is creating a “gun-free zone” where would-be assailants can feel safe. The truth, however, is that most mass shootings on college campuses have included highly armed, heavily armored shooters who are not concerned about dying. The Virginia Tech shooter, for instance, and the Texas belltower shooter, both showed very little concern about their own lives. This means, then, that allowing guns on campus will not necessarily deter these kinds of acts. There is a flip side of the debate worth considering, however. With the knowledge in mind that allowing concealed carry on campus will not necessarily stop mass shootings, and with the knowledge that the presence of guns will actually make it more likely that someone gets injured on campus, it is the proponents’ responsibility to show that they have instituted appropriate safety measures.
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What exactly are those security measures that might be instituted in order to make college concealed carry an appropriate thing? For one, the allowance would have to start by restricting guns to the cars of individuals. The argument on behalf of concealed carry is that guns can be used to stop mass murder before things turn worse. In any of those situations, the threat of a person having a gun in his vehicle would have a deterrent effect. Likewise, this would help to ensure that people are not bringing guns into the classroom and those guns can only be used when there is a critical situation on campus.
In addition, there must be restrictions against discharging and brandishing weapons except in the case of emergencies. The university must have some sort of communication plan that provides students with knowledge of what is going on during the course of the situation. There could be a “Code Red” type of warning that would tell students that there is imminent danger on campus or within a certain building. Only then would students be able to use their weapons. Discharging a weapon in any other context would need to have serious consequences. This would protect against those situations where guns might be used to resolve the kind of normal conflicts that often happen between students.
Ultimately, we must protect against the dangerous use of guns on college campuses. Colleges, especially here in Texas, have many students, and when more guns are present, the chances of someone being struck by a bullet is much higher. By only allowing guns to be stashed in vehicles and limiting their use only to those times when a critical situation is on-hand, schools and administrators can ensure that they protect against the considerable risk of guns on campus. Unless these security measures, and many others, are instituted, concealed carry should continue to be banned.
- Baker, Marilyn. “UT tower shooting. A madman’s rampage changes the emergency response system.” Texas medicine 99.1 (2003): 55.
- Donohue, John J. “The impact of concealed-carry laws.” in Jens Ludwig and Philip Cook, Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence (2003).
- Littleton, Heather L., Danny Axsom, and Amie E. Grills-Taquechel. “Adjustment following the mass shooting at Virginia Tech: The roles of resource loss and gain.” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 1.3 (2009): 206.
