Packing heat on campus
With recent school shootings and the Supreme Court saying the University of Utah has been violating state law, guns on campus has been a hot topic.
So far Utah State University has not had any major problems with the issue of dangerous weapons on campus and guns are allowed if the student has a concealed weapon permit. While some students say it’s their choice to carry a gun, others admit it would make them uneasy to know peers were carrying firearms.
“There’s not need to carry a gun on campus,” said Josh Blair, a senior majoring in psychology. “You have to think about safety and the chance that people will get shot.”
USU Police Chief Steve Mecham said that the university currently doesn’t have an official policy concerning weapons on campus other than state law, which allows them as long as the student has a permit.
“It’s a very personal thing. People argue both ways,” Mecham said. “Some say if they were in danger, carrying a gun would allow them to protect themselves, while others don’t like that idea because an accident could happen.”
As the number of guns rises, the chances of someone getting hurt will rise, said Blair, who added that although he doesn’t mind if people have guns, carrying them on campus is a different issue.
If students kept them locked up in their vehicles during the day, that would be OK, he said, but they shouldn’t have them on their belts or under their coats where they could be playing around with the safety.
Other students who have or are trying to obtain concealed weapon permits disagree.
“I don’t think carrying a gun makes campus less safe as long as you have a permit,” said Brett Erickson, a senior majoring in landscape architecture. “I’d rather have a gun and not need one than need one and not have it.”
Erickson will soon have his concealed weapon permit and said although he won’t carry a gun on campus most of the time, he might try it out just because he can.
“I might take it to school once, just for kicks and giggles,” Erickson said. “The people that can carry guns aren’t the people you need to worry about. If they wanted to do something bad, they wouldn’t get a permit.”
Nobody would know if a student was carrying a gun anyway, said Dex Taylor, a state certified firearms instructor. Those who obtain permits are in violation if they show anyone their concealed weapon.
“It would make very little difference if students with permits carried guns on campus,” Taylor said. “Guns have to be concealed and they have to be safe.”
Taylor said to obtain a concealed weapon permit, a person has to apply and attend a four-hour state required handgun familiarity and safety course by a certified instructor. They have passport pictures and fingerprints taken and must have an FBI background check. They also must pay a fee of $60.
Mecham said if students with permits received correct training and apply it when they carry guns and other weapons, it should be enough to keep themselves and others safe.
Even with a permit, however, some students wonder why a person would ever need a gun on campus. Melissa Hulse, a freshman majoring in dietetics, said it would make her feel uneasy if she knew other students were carrying guns.
“I hope that there would never be a reason to carry a gun. I can’t think of a huge reason why you would want to bring one,” she said. “I think we have enough protection. I don’t think we need guns.”
It all depends on the person carrying the weapon, said Keith Wilson, a senior majoring in Asian studies. But really, he added, if a student wants to carry a gun, he will, with or without a permit.
“Responsible people will have permits and irresponsible people won’t,” he said. “Nobody will know. There’s not a way to put up metal detectors all over campus to know if people have guns or not.”
Wilson did say that people may be concerned with guns because of the recent shootings that have happened in schools across the country. Even though he doubts one would happen at USU, there’s always the possibility, Wilson said.
In the past three weeks, three schools in three states have been hit by deadly attacks and several others have faced threats. On Oct. 2 in Pennsylvania, a gunman killed himself and five girls. Less than a week before, a 15-year-old Wisconsin student was arrested in the shooting death of his principal. In Colorado on Sept. 27, a man took six girls hostage, sexually assaulted them, killed one of them and shot himself.
None of these incidents happened on college campuses; but it still makes people wonder if it could happen at a place like USU said Wilson.
At the U of U, all concealed guns were banned up until Sept. 8, when the Supreme Court ruled the policy went against state law. For several years, the university said their policy was in place to preserve an academic environment free from intimidation.
The school is currently suspending the ban on guns until all court battles are finished. The U of U is still waiting on the federal court concerning the issue. Students will be able to carry concealed weapons as long as they have a permit.
If students are going to carry guns on college campuses, Wilson said it would be a good idea if more people were informed about the weapon.
“They could go learn a lot more on how guns work and where they can carry them,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the best thing for a person to carry a gun if they are being bullied or if they are afraid of being raped. It gives them more confidence.”
Even though a gun may provide security for some people though, Wilson said he doesn’t ever plan to carry a concealed weapon.
“There’s that one-in-a-million chance that something bad could happen, but it’s not worth packing a gun around,” he said.
-mnewbold@cc.usu.edu