Pro and Anti Op-Eds in the UT Austin Student Newspaper

[Douva]

These two opinion pieces ran in today's edition of the Daily Texan. The vote on the Student Government resolution at issue has been postponed one week, until Tuesday, January 27.


Point Counterpoint: Guns on campus

John O. Woods & Joseph Boudreau

Daily Texan Guest Columnists
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Published: Monday, January 19, 2009

Updated: Monday, January 19, 2009


Campuses do not need to be subject to gun violence

By John O. Woods
Daily Texan Guest Columnist

Several weeks ago, W. Scott Lewis, a representative of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, sent an e-mail to members of UT’s Student Government. While not a student himself — Lewis is a real estate agent — he has taken it upon himself to try to convince us we need guns on our campus.

According to SCCC’s own handbook, concealed carry is prohibited in polling places, at race tracks, at schools and colleges as well as in post offices and federal buildings.

These have all been gun-free zones for a long while and for justifiable, prudent reasons. In these places, public safety trumps individual rights. It’s why you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater or “bomb” in an airport.

SCCC’s handbook argues that school shootings — exceedingly rare events — would be deterred by students with guns. At the same time it argues that handgun-licensed students are so few and far between (10 to 20 in residence halls on UT campus, for example) that they couldn’t possibly increase suicide rates, accidents or cause any harm whatsoever. SCCC wants to have its cake and eat it, too. How can a few dozen guns on campus deter or stop a school shooting? They’re not even likely to be in the same building — that is, unless they’re the cause.

Furthermore, violent crimes have been few and far between here at UT. There has not been a murder on campus in the past 10 years. There have been only three murders since 1980; two of those were apparently a double-murder-suicide in married student housing, not in classroom buildings, and the third case involved an individual who passed away due to injuries sustained during the 1966 University of Texas shooting.

SCCC’s handbook argues that guns can also be used for defense against rape, but the vast majority of rapes are committed by acquaintances. More than 60 percent of murdered women are killed by their own partners, so how will a gun help? Around whom is it safe to put the gun away?

In 2005, 55 percent of gun deaths in the U.S. were suicides. The statistic for the State of Texas is similar — a majority. That means guns were used for suicide more than for self-defense and homicide combined. When suicides are already a major problem on college campuses, is it really a good idea to make it any easier? More than 80 percent of suicide attempts using guns are successful — a much higher percentage than any other method. SCCC claims concealed handgun license holders are more responsible, but its statistics do not take age, stress or maturity into account. College is an extraordinarily stressful environment populated by a high-risk age group, and adding guns to that mixture can have deadly consequences.

Student Government has been working to provide domestic partner benefits for University faculty and staff based on the argument that the lack of benefits will prevent the recruitment of quality professors. Guns in classrooms would also make it difficult to recruit quality researchers and instructors. I have not spoken to a single professor or graduate teaching assistant who would feel comfortable with guns in his or her classroom.

Finally, and most importantly, the Virginia Tech Review Panel Report — composed by a bipartisan panel — advocated that colleges be permitted to ban guns on campus. The bill being introduced here would cast aside that key recommendation.

In our state’s current legislative session, a bill will reportedly be introduced which would allow concealed carry of handguns on college campuses in Texas (it’s currently a third degree felony to have a handgun in a campus building, and has been for some time). In December, a resolution opposing the bill — and concealed carry on campus in general — was passed by the Senate of College Councils. A similar version was passed by the UT System Faculty Council. Tonight, SG will vote on the bill during its weekly meeting.

Violence is a very serious problem in our society. Fortunately, college campuses (including UT) are typically much safer than the surrounding areas. If UT students still feel unsafe, Student Government should ask for more police — a sure solution for reducing crime. School shootings in particular are more easily preventable through accessible campus resources like mental health treatment and heightened security than through increased numbers of gun-toting students.

Editor’s note: This letter was an indirect response to a letter sent to SG representatives last month by a spokesperson for Students for Concealed Carry. It has been edited for this newspaper with Woods’ consent.

Woods is a biology graduate student.


We must defend our 2nd Amendment rights everywhere

By Joseph Boudreau
Daily Texan Guest Columnist

In listening to opponents of legalizing lawful concealed carry of handguns on Texas college campuses, one might be led to believe that this is either a debate about whether or not college students are mature enough to carry guns or a debate about whether or not concealed carry will make college campuses statistically safer and prevent mass shootings. In reality, neither of those straw man arguments accurately defines this issue.

At its heart, this issue is about whether or not there is just cause to deny trained, licensedadults age 21 and above the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that they currently enjoy in movie theaters, office buildings, grocery stores, restaurants, churches, banks, state and municipal offices and even the Texas Capitol.

The rate of concealed carry in the state of Texas is approximately 1.3 percent, meaning that approximately one person out of every 77 is licensed to carry a concealed handgun in the state of Texas. Yet, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows someone who’s been attacked or threatened by a Texas concealed handgun license holder. That’s because, according to Texas Department of Public Safety statistics, a concealed handgun license holder is approximately five times less likely than a non-license holder to commit a violent crime. In fact, in the state of Texas you’re more than 20 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be murdered or negligently killed by a concealed handgun license holder.

At least 11 U.S. colleges (all nine public colleges in the state of Utah, Colorado State University and Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Va.) have, for a combined total of more than 80 semesters, allowed concealed carry on campus, without a single resulting incident of gun violence, gun-related accident or gun theft.

Legalizing concealed carry on college campuses will not change the laws regarding who is able to buy a gun or who is able to obtain a concealed handgun license. It will simply allow the same trained, licensed adults who already carry concealed handguns, without incident, throughout their day-to-day lives to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. It will not change the laws at off-campus parties or bars — the places where students over the age of 21 are most likely to consume alcohol — and it will not change current laws that make it illegal for anyone to carry a handgun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It is highly unlikely that the presence of a few concealed handgun license holders (the rate of concealed carry among Texans in their 20s is about 0.5 percent, meaning that the rate of concealed carry on the UT campus would be about 0.185 perecent, or one person out of every 540) would escalate a school shooting or lead to greater loss of life. A 1997 FBI study found that most shootouts last less than 10 seconds. It is inconceivable to think that nine seconds of exchanged gunfire between two individuals could lead to more fatalities than a nine-minute, uncontested execution-style massacre like the one that occurred at Virginia Tech, where the shooter walked from victim to victim, shooting them multiple times from point-blank range.

The controversy over whether or not to legalize concealed carry on Texas college campuses is a complicated issue not easily summed up in sound bites and short paragraphs. Rather than basing opinions on editorials and public debates, individuals wishing to truly understand the issue should dig into the mountains of research available from organizations on both sides of the debate. Two good places to start are the SCCC Handbook: Texas Edition (http://www.concealedcampus.org/tx_sccc_package.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and SCCC’s official rebuttal to UT Student Government resolution AR 7 (http://www.concealedcampus.org/UTSG_AR7_REBUTTAL.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

It doesn’t matter whether the threat is a deranged gunman, a sexual predator or a bigot looking to commit a hate crime — people have the right to defend themselves. Why should trained, licensed adults who have proven themselves trustworthy throughout the rest of society be afforded any less right to personal protection on college campuses? If there is no evidence to suggest that allowing concealed carry on college campuses will cause problems, and if it has the potential to protect individuals, why not allow it? Why not take the advantage away from those who seek to harm the innocent?

Boudreau is a biology sophomore.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Thanks for posting this.

We need impact witnesses and we need them now! If you are a college student who has a CHL and are willing to be a witness at a House and/or Senate committee hearing on the campus-carry bill, please send me an email at Charles@TexasShooting.com. I can testify all day, and I probably will , but at 59 years old, I won't have the impact of a female student that has been the victim of an on-campus crime.

Chas.

[srothstein]

Campuses do not need to be subject to gun violence

By John O. Woods
Daily Texan Guest Columnist

Furthermore, violent crimes have been few and far between here at UT. There has not been a murder on campus in the past 10 years. There have been only three murders since 1980; two of those were apparently a double-murder-suicide in married student housing, not in classroom buildings, and the third case involved an individual who passed away due to injuries sustained during the 1966 University of Texas shooting.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in mentioning one of the most famous school shootings in an argument against legal carry on campus? After all, the citizens responding with their rifles helped keep the death toll down, and a citizen going up the tower to assist the officers is what ended the shooting. Seems like the perfect example of how the campus could be safer with citizens armed.