During the 80th Legislative interim, the House Committee questioned the significance of the Texas law prohibiting firearms on the premises of educational institutions.
Students around the country have worn empty gun holsters to campus to silently protest against banned weapons, demonstrating their lack of defense.
Elementary, middle and high schools now practice lockdown drills. Teachers lock the door, turn off the lights and instruct their students to hide beneath their desks.
Even with the end of this year’s legislative session, the question remains, should campuses allow students to carry a concealed handgun for protection?
On the morning of Aug. 1, 1966, a shocking incident took place too close to home. At the University of Texas, a student climbed to the top of the university bell tower and began a shooting spree.
The students decided to fight back. They raced to their living quarters and retrieved their shotguns and deer-rifles to return fire on the madman. The shooter was then no longer able to aim and fire. This allowed several officers to climb the tower and take him down.
We have all seen movies and television shows that portray a distressed student who enacts revenge on a handful of classmates. On April 16, 2007, this nightmare came to life for the students attending Virginia Tech.
Listed as the deadliest campus shooting in the U.S., the incident involved a senior diagnosed with an anxiety disorder who opened fire on students. Thousands of students ran toward safety, hoping the killer would proceed elsewhere. That day, the shooter killed 32 people and wounded many others, gaining the upper hand because of his indifference toward the gun-free policy Virginia Tech had adopted.
Though firearms can be carried in various public places, many people still regard them as barbaric tools of violence, carried only by men with large egos and smaller anatomies. The general consensus among college students seems to be against allowing guns on campus.
However, we should ask the opinion of the woman who was sexually assaulted walking to her car from campus or the man who was robbed of his belongings at knife-point while exiting class.
It is an undeniable fact that all people should have the innate privilege of defending themselves. How are colleges going to take away our right to carry a concealed handgun when it could save lives?
Katie Edwards is an English sophomore and may be reached at [email protected]
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