Guns on Campus

There is a growing debate about whether guns, including concealed weapons, should be allowed on campuses. The enthusiasm for arming students and faculty comes on the heels of recent shootings on campus.

I have only one question: Are they out of their minds?

Arming the average student, staff member, or faculty member may make sense if you have watched enough movies to think that the good guys never miss a shot and that morally superior always win. They picture a high noon showdown with Clint Eastwood gunning down the villians. Folks, it just doesn't happen that way.

First, even those who are range trained and certified to shoot aren't necessarily ready to react appropriately in the midst of a chaotic crowd. Once multiple people draw and start firing, how likely is each person to know who the real "bad guy" is? And, when the police arrive, how will they know who to take out? It's a recipe for mayhem and more needless deaths.

Second, we must factor in the other shootings that could occur. None of us were on best behavior throughout our college years -- we got rowdy, drank too much, perhaps experimented with a controlled substance or two, stayed up all night studying until our eyes were blurry, had our hearts broken once or twice -- in short, we did lots of things that put us in situations where everyone should be happy that we didn't have ready access to firearms. College is a time to get a little wild and that's better done without live ammunition.

We ought to be looking at the root causes of violence in our society rather than planning on arming every Tom, Dick, Harry, Jane, Kate, and Sally.