My intention in creating this blog was to talk about science, policy, and education — and the intersection thereof. Unfortunately, legislators here in Texas introduced bills that would allow licensed concealed handguns on college campuses; and they have used the Virginia Tech shooting to market those bills to the public.
Given that members of university communities — faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, scientists included — are so overwhelmingly opposed to guns on campus; and given also the public health evidence, I think it important to at least mention the issue.
The following is an op-ed submitted to the Dallas Morning News in response to an opinion piece. Colin Goddard, a survivor of the Virginia Tech tragedy, sent in an excellent response already, but we felt it was important to provide the perspective of students and faculty in Texas. Our letter was submitted to the Morning News, which only printed a few paragraphs. Here is the full text, with additional links.
Proponents of HB 1893 (SB 1164), which would allow students to carry guns on public university campuses, argue that the classroom is no different from a movie theater or a shopping mall, where some Texas residents also carry guns. But these gun advocates concede that weapons should not be allowed at athletic events or in the galleries in the Texas Capitol. In other words, they recognize that handguns, even borne by responsible people, pose a significant threat to football fans and to our legislators themselves.
But what of students? Why are sporting events and the Legislature sacred, but not our schools? In an opinion piece Wednesday, three professors played fast and loose with statistics in an effort to convince Texans that students should carry guns to class next semester.
None of these professors are experts in public safety, public health, psychology or any related field. They claim concealed-carry laws reduce mass shootings and that mass shootings happen overwhelmingly in “gun-free zones,” conveniently ignoring the events of the last few weeks — shootings in places that allow guns, with the perpetrators in both Alabama and Pittsburgh targeting armed individuals.
Moreover, these three professors are at odds with almost every other faculty member in the state. Faculty representatives from the entire University of Texas System voted unanimously against guns on campus, as did the Texas Council of Faculty Senates. Not a single university governance body — students, faculty, or staff — has voted in favor of allowing guns on campuses. Many have voted against lifting the ban, including at least five universities in the UT System and Trinity University, University of North Texas, University of Houston, and Baylor.
Proponents of guns on campus cite the Virginia Tech tragedy as impetus for increased personal security, but this is maddening for those of us who were Tech students on April 16, 2007. Not a single survivor of the shooting at Tech is in favor of guns on campus. They say the shooting happened too quickly, that guns would not have helped. These people are the experts.
School shootings are extraordinarily rare. University campuses are among the safest places in Texas, and at least some of that likely stems from the restrictions on weapons in classrooms. Ninety-three percent of violent crimes against students occurs off-campus.
The homicide, rape and aggravated assault rates on college grounds are minuscule — approximately nil — compared to the surrounding areas, where guns are allowed. On the other hand, simple assault rates (think fist fights) in schools are higher. Now, imagine adding a gun to a heated situation: what once required a band-aid now needs psychological counseling and a body-bag.
Those pushing guns onto campuses argue that concealed handgun licenses indicate a greater level of responsibility, but they ignore inconvenient Department of Public Safety statistics that show CHL holders are arrested at a significantly higher rate for weapons-related offenses than the general population. Those statistics, which contradict the concealed-carry movement’s hypothesis, are no longer available through the Department of Public Safety.
It’s also significant that Texas campus police are overwhelmingly opposed to guns on campus. Campus police have some of the lowest response times of police anywhere — around three minutes at most universities. The probability of an active shooter encountering a CHL holder in that period of time is extremely low. Dangerously, police have no way to tell the difference between a criminal with a gun and a CHL holder with a gun, and no way to know if a lawfully-armed individual might be present.
On April 16 of this year, several hundred students walked out of class to rally against guns on campus on the steps of the Capitol. In anticipation of the walk-out, CHL-licensed students planned a counter-protest. Several of those supposedly responsible individuals bragged that they would come armed.
To show up to a peaceful protest armed is deeply irresponsible and runs counter to claims that college-aged CHL holders are mature enough to carry in classrooms. It only takes one irresponsible person with a gun to do a great deal of damage.
As Americans, we take our rights very seriously — but we also have responsibilities and obligations which attend those rights.
We have a right to shout ‘fire’ in a theater, but it would be inappropriate and we’d be asked to leave. Further, that right is limited for public safety: we have an obligation not to shout ‘fire’ in a theater, because it puts lives at risk. To carry a gun into a classroom — when shootings are so rare and college campuses so safe — is both inappropriate and irresponsible.
Signed,
John O. Woods, Virginia Tech alumnus, 2007; UT-Austin Graduate School Representative
Leah Finnegan, Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Texan, UT-Austin
Keshav Rajagopalan, 2008-09 Student Body President, UT-Austin
Liam O’Rourke, 2009-10 Student Body President, UT-Austin
Jeff Kline, Student Body President, University of North Texas
Samuel Dike, Student Body President, University of Houston
Nicole Alvarado, Editor-in-Chief, The Battalion, Texas A&M University
Mark Gold, Student Body President, Texas A&M University
This piece was written by John O. Woods, the editor of The New Radish, and edited by Leah Finnegan of UT-Austin’s The Daily Texan.
Texas A&M’s Student Body President added his name to the signature list on May 1st, 2009, after publication of this letter.
