Concealed handgun carriers tired of firing blanks

It's been more than a year since the Virginia Tech shootings, and since then, student safety on campus has been a hot topic at schools across the country.

Now a petition is in circulation with more than 35,000 college students, professors, college employees and parents saying they want to legalize carrying concealed handguns on campus.

The group, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, wrote on their Web site that they believe "holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else."

Alaska and Vermont don't require a permit, according to the SCCC Web site. At age 18, people can carry concealed with a license in Indiana, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Maine.

"It's personal protection. It all comes down to self defense," said Dudley Kelso III, student representative for SCCC at The University of Memphis. "[Students] should be allowed within their right to defend themselves on this campus just like they do on most every other place statewide."

The incident at Virginia Tech might have played a role in why there has been a rise in the group's support for concealed carry on campus, but Kelso said it wasn't what made up his mind. He does think that if students could legally carry weapons, they might have prevented Seung-Hui Cho from killing as many people as he did.

Having students carry weapons on campus might not be the best solution to violence prevention according to Derek Myers, deputy director of The University's police department.

"It's easier to sort things out when I don't have a Good Samaritan who's armed on the scene," Myers said. "It takes longer to sort out who's doing what to whom. You have to treat everyone as a suspect. It's making a bad situation worse or making it harder to do my job."

SCCC argues on their Web site that "police are trained to expect both armed bad guys and armed good guys." The group said armed civilians would be easy to detect because they would be hiding with a crowd while an armed assailant would be shooting at the crowd.

It's not just job worries among police officers that would come with legalizing concealed carry on campus; Myers is concerned about the risk students take when taking action against armed assailants. Students should "be a good witness" instead of Superman, Myers said.

"It's not like I want to go out and be a hero and stop crime," Kelso said. "I do want to have insurance that if I need that weapon, then it's there."

When getting a permit to carry concealed, applicants would take classes on using their weapon. But if a 10 to 15 hour course isn't enough education to take on an assailant, Myers said, whereas police are trained for certain situations.

Applicants for a license would have to go through background checks, Kelso said, but some argue that background checks might not be enough to keep the campus safe from someone starting violence on campus. Those diagnosed with mental illness cannot receive a permit to carry a handgun, but Cho managed to legally attain the weapons anyways, causing disaster at Virginia Tech.

"The person who sold him the guns didn't know he had mental problems. There's no system that's full proof," Myers said.

Myers also believes there would be a rise in phone calls from concerned students who aren't comfortable knowing a fellow classmate is armed.

"It puts innocent people around you at risk," said freshman marketing major Jazmine Tate.

In a local perspective, students are concerned there would be a repeat event similar to the shooting of University of Memphis student Taylor Bradford if concealed carry on campus was legal.

"I won't feel safe because it'd lead to a lot of violence," said senior accounting major Kenny Iwueke.

Anyone intending on instigating a shooting spree is planning to do so regardless of the legalization of concealed carry on campus, Kelso said.

"Making it legal for law abiding citizens to carry on campus isn't going to make it easier for those who would illegally carry on campus simply because it is already easy for those who wish to carry illegally on campus," he said. "I don't see how allowing legal carry could in any way influence illegal carry."

But many students still think weapons wouldn't help the safety and environment on campus.

"I don't think guns or weapons have a place on campus," said Samantha Murphy, junior business major. "What business do you have bringing that on campus? It's not like we're in New York City or Chicago. I know not enough stuff happens on campus for it to happen."

While SCCC has pages of answers to common arguments of why guns shouldn't be allowed on University property, Myers still thinks they haven't thought out every answer.

"Any time you start something new like that, you're going to be inviting all kinds of problems you didn't foresee. I just think you're opening up Pandora's box," Myers said.