So, I pulled out my CCW, and told him that I was planning on ignoring the no-weapons policy on our local campus when I went back to work. I told him that there was no way I was going to permit some douchebag in the administration to turn my students into statistics with that policy.
His shoulders kinda relaxed, and he said that if some crazy person was going to ignore the signs and bring a gun on campus to commit violence, that there needed to be a crazy person bringing guns onto campus to prevent that.
My state recently considered (briefly, before they shot it down) a law requiring state colleges and universities to permit faculty with CCWs to carry on campus. I really wish they hadn't shot it down, because if I have to draw down to prevent a mass murderer from turning my students into statistics, I likely would get fired.
It would have been a far lower death toll at Columbine High School in 1999, had faculty been carrying (I think--it's entirely possible that no teacher could have brought themselves to kill one of their students). Math teacher David Benke would have had a far easier and safer job stopping the crazy bastard shooting at his middle-school students had he been permitted to carry a gun.
Colorado State's faculty and Board of Governors just turned their students into walking targets in a target-rich environment.
Also, just plain KNOWING about guns and understanding them can help.
ReplyDeleteThe math teacher who took down the nutjob in the most recent Colorado school shooting said, "I knew he was using a bolt-action rifle.." and that he knew just how much time he had to take the guy down before he reloaded.
While there are some students I'd never want to let near a gun, by and large, our majors...if they were carrying, I'd feel safer.
Same here, Ricki. And as I said on another blog, I refuse to permit some other rule-breaking nutjob to turn my students or colleagues into statistics. When I go back to campus, I go armed.
ReplyDeleteIn your areas, how difficult is it to get a permit to carry?
ReplyDeleteI had a permit in California BUT I lived in a county that issued more permits than the entire state combined---that was 25 plus years ago.
Do they even let security folks on campuses even carry a gun?
I think there would be a big advantage IF teachers were allowed to carry and there were signs posted (ie your image).
Want to get motivated to carry?
Check this LINK:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html
My state is a "shall issue" state: take the class, pay the fee, and if your background check (local, state, and national) comes back clean, they *have* to give your your CCW.
ReplyDeleteMy state also happens to be an open-carry state, so as long as you carry openly, and aren't legally forbidden from carrying (ex-con, or certified insane), you can carry.
I don't like to carry that way because I don't want some jumpy rent-a-cop at a big box store getting themselves shot by trying to take my gun away from me without notifying me of their intentions. I also don't want to let the criminal element notice that there's somebody that might shoot back--which discourages them from jumping anyone else, too, since they don't know who might be armed.
As for our campus security...thank God they *AREN'T* armed. They're belligerent assholes that like to torment the students (like blocking crosswalks when there aren't any cars coming, just because they can). If they were armed, they'd be responsible for a lot of incidents on campus.
However, our campus has a lot of duty-cops--honest to God police force cops, not rent-a-cops--who take classes to keep up their certifications who are *required by law* to carry at all times. They aren't obvious about it, but you can pick them out if you know what to look for.
I think the criminal element on campus might know this. Then again, they might not.