On April 16, 2007, Sueng-Hoi Cho entered a dorm and later an educational building on the Virginia Tech campus and ended the lives of 32 men and women. Undoubtedly one of the worst school shootings on a college campus, the Virginia Tech shootings invigorated the debate on gun control.
Prior to the shootings, a bill was introduced to the Virginia House of Delegates which would have permitted people with a state-issued concealed carry permit to carry guns on campus. It did not pass. Had it passed, this tragedy might have been prevented, paving the way for firearm reform across the country.
In the state of Mississippi, it is legal to register and take classes to allow an individual to obtain a conceal carry permit. However, according to the law, you may not conceal carry on any school campus, whether it be an elementary school, community college or a university campus.
I can understand where conceal carrying on an elementary school campus should be illegal. Anyone who needs to carry a gun while working with seven-year-olds should not be working with kids.
What I do not understand is what harm would come from conceal carrying on a college campus? If students at Virginia Tech were allowed to carry on campus, it is possible Cho would have been stopped sooner.
It would take some time getting used to seeing people carrying on campus. The first time I was in a public place and noticed some one carrying, I felt a little apprehensive, but then I gave it some thought. In order to get a permit, a person has to pass certain criteria. This man needed to be able to prove he had never been convicted of a felony, was mentally stable, did not abuse alcohol or any other controlled substances and was physically able to operate a handgun or a revolver.
Not only does one need to pass these criteria, but when you register, you must bring in a passport photo, get fingerprinted and allow the Department of Public Safety to look up your records and make sure you have not lied about your past. Does this mean everyone who carries has gone through this process? Of course not, people illegally carry firearms more often than you would think. I, for one, would like a chance to defend myself legally from an attacker.
Now, I am big guy. Why should I need to carry a gun on campus? Why not? No matter how big I am, a would-be attacker with any weapon would still have the ability to overpower me. I would much rather have an equalizer at my disposal to either dissuade the attack, or if necessary, choose my life over that of my attacker.
What about the young women on campus? My wife goes to the Sanderson Center three times a week, usually later at night. Every time she leaves, she calls me on the phone and stays on until she is in her car and the doors are locked. If, God forbid, something were to happen, I would be much happier knowing she had a way to defend herself.
With the state requirements being so strict, should there not be some way to monitor concealed carry on campus? We all have student IDs, so the school already has our pictures and personal information on file. Could the university not also keep a record of who is carrying on campus? It would be great if all it took to carry on campus was filling out a form with campus security and following guidelines the state provides.
There could even be a firearm safety class offered each semester to go hand in hand with carrying on campus. Educate people about firearms and the responsibilities of owning them instead of passing rules and regulations banning them without really giving people a chance to make their own decision. This is college, after all, where we get a chance to make our own choices.
Ariel Nachtigal is a the photo editor of The Reflector. He can be contacted at [email protected].