The Arizona legislature has approved a bill which would make it legal to carry a firearm on public college and university grounds. If signed into law by Republican Governor Jan Brewer, who is a gun proponent, it would be only the second state allowing firearms on public campuses, the other being Utah.
Well it’s about time! It’s not that school shootings are becoming an epidemic, but when an incident does occur, many lives are lost. People who want to do damage, know they show up to a public university for a virtual target practice session. To a perspective shooter, “gun-free zones” = no one shoots back, and they are free to kill as many people as they can before the police show up.
The concern that more gun violence will increase is unfounded. People who own guns legally are the most unlikely to use them in crimes. Restrictive gun laws only prevent law-abiding citizens from owning and carrying them.
I think this is a great idea to allow students and staff to be able to protect themselves. At least now, the body count will be much fewer. Who knows maybe the fish will start shooting back.
UPDATE: Arizona Governor Brewer has vetoed this bill. Brewer explains: “This bill was very sloppily written and drafted… and we can’t even find out a definition, what is a right of way? It just wasn’t defined to be able to tell the courts or the policeman how they are going to enforce a law like that”.
Sifting Reality 
John,
What do you say to those who think allowing guns on college campuses may in fact create gun violence?
I really haven’t taken a stance on the issue, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Statistically speaking, as gun ownership increases in a particular town or city, gun violence goes down, The 31 states that have “shall issue” laws allowing private citizens to carry concealed weapons have, on average, a 24 percent lower violent crime rate, a 19 percent lower murder rate and a 39 percent lower robbery rate than states that forbid concealed weapons. In fact, the nine states with the lowest violent crime rates are all right-to-carry states. Remarkably, guns are used for self-defense more than 2 million times a year, three to five times the estimated number of violent crimes committed with guns. — Cato Institute
Also, as I very briefly noted, people who own guns legally are the least likely to commit a crime with a gun. Those who take the time to submit to the local, state, and federal background investigation are the law abiding citizens.
I own a gun, and have mingled with many gun owners, and they tend to be the most careful in both handling and observing the law(when it comes to the laws concerning guns).
Gun owners tend to see owning and carrying a gun as a great responsibility. So I think broadly speaking, the only kids and staff who will carry a gun on campus would be the type who seek to protect themselves, not for drunken sports or robberies.
Of course as with everything, there will be exceptions. There will always be a Jared Laughtner or Virginia Tech shooter out there. But again, strict gun laws only restrict the people least likely to break that law, criminals don’t care. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold violated close to 20 firearms laws in amassing their cache of weapons (not to mention the law against murder), so it seems rather dubious to argue that additional laws might have prevented this tragedy. — Same Article referenced above.
At least now the fish in the barrel have a fighting chance. And who knows, the thought of not knowing who or how many students or staff will be carrying that day, it might make someone think twice.
*Italicized portions are direct quotations from the referenced Cato article.