Colleges and universities are often viewed as ivory tower institutions, places where the erudite can dispense knowledge of man while operating in an environment isolated from the “real world.”
With shocking intrusion, the real world has a way of showing up in such places. It’s not a new phenomenon at all. One of the most famous on campus shootings happened in 1966 when Charles Whitman ascended the tower at the University of Texas. He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others shooting from his perch.
Virginia Tech resonates in our minds.
Close to home, a graduate student at our University of Arkansas shot his academic adviser,Locke, in 2000. The student killed himself, however, before harming anyone else. In 1981, a UA police officer killed shotgun into a sorority house and threatened to do harm.
Lest anyone believe otherwise, guns are on college campuses. They are in violation of the law, but the law won’t stop someone intent on causing harm.
To some, that provides proof Arkansas should allow law-abiding citizens - the ones who aren’t carrying guns on campus today - to tote handguns on campuses.
State Rep. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith, proposes in House Bill 1035 to allow “trained and licensed staff and faculty” to carry concealed firearms on campus. Others suggest going further, allowing any concealed carry permit holder to tote their gun on campus.
We heard in recent days how one leadership group on campus views this debate. The Residents’ Interhall Congress approved a measure that supports teacher and faculty concealed carry.
Another resolution to “affirm the right of self defense” on campus. That measure failed 19-11.
All of this is going on while another bill, one to allow the carrying of concealed handguns in the now-exempt churches, appears headed toward approval in the Arkansas House. It’s already passed the Senate, and Gov. Mike Beebe says he will sign it.
The church bill makes sense by handing the decision to private institutions that can make their own choices. But university campuses are different. They’re public institutions.
There’s been a run on guns and ammunition since last year from those fearful the government will make them hard to get. Retailers sold plenty of both for Christmas. Concealed carry classes are often at capacity.
Most of those getting new guns and new concealed carry permits will not do the work necessary to be prepared to act safely and quickly when under attack. Police officers train often, yet we regularly see them miss their targets during adrenaline-producing threats. The gun-carrier who hasn’t trained will be more of a danger than a hero.
They will be a threat to others in their reactions and, if they fumble around, may actually provide a gunman another weapon for his arsenal.
We also note the regularity of crimes of passion, in which someone ends up dead because a gun is nearby and convenient. There’s no need for that on college campuses.
Universities have their own police forces ready to respond. The response in the John Locke shooting was unbelievably fast. We think those officers serve campuses well, backed up by local authorities.
Just because the real world intrudes on our college campuses sometimes doesn’t mean we need to invite it in with changes to the state’s gun laws.
Opinion, Pages 10 on 02/03/2013