Conceal and Carry Comment

I have posted a comment on my classmates blog regarding the proposed legislation to allow students to carry handguns on campus. I will post the comment below:

This has been the hottest political issue I've heard discussed on campus. To me the bill is extremely short- sighted. Throwing guns at guns doesn't sound like well drawn up legislation to me. While reasonable arguments can be made (stopping campus shootings and introducing responsible gun owners to campuses) they are only beneficial hypothetically. Imagining the same scenario the pro conceal and carry folks offer up, let us imagine a shooter lighting up our campus. The response of a young student who has a concealed gun will most likely be to freeze or to misfire due to pressure. Not only that, once the police respond, the young man may be confused for the assailant or simply slow down the retention of the guilty party. As a police officer having received word of a school shooting, how would you be able to decipher a well intentioned shooter from afar. I imagine this would be quite difficult. While shootings happen every so often they are quite rare by society's standards and college campuses remain a relatively safe place to live. Another concern of mine is the fact that theft is the number one crime on campus, so a gun that isn't properly put away could end up as a future tool for a student who broke into a gun carriers room. The only positives to passing this piece of legislation are all speculative, those who live in reality realize the grave mistake of such a reckless policy. That's my two cents. I enjoyed reading your article, it's a great starting point of an important discussion.