You think colleges should allow students to carry guns on campus? Are you crazy?" I hear the familiar arguments once again. Terrible and tragic images flow in this steady stream of pure verbal disbelief - images of a student irritated with his English test grade pulling a gun on his teacher or images of a student opening fire in a crowded auditorium of students peacefully taking an exam.
And they've happened in gun-free zones - college campuses.
But what have the gun-free campus laws done? They have disarmed a majority of people on campus, both faculty and students. What have they not done? They haven't kept the faculty and students safe.
The gun-free zones assume that criminals and those intent upon killing people will obey those nice little reminders that guns aren't allowed on campus.
Unfortunately, criminals don't make it their practice to obey laws. The students and faculty dead on classroom floors can attest to how well those laws work.
The gun-free zones have accomplished nothing but robbing good, law-abiding students and faculty of a means to defend themselves. And they do nothing to stop those who intend to do harm.
In fact, they almost encourage it.
Think about it. If you wanted to cause people harm, what better place to go than where you're assured of not being confronted with a gun?
The knowledge that people are possibly armed is a deterrent.
According to a U.S.Department of Justice study, 81 percent of interviewed felons agreed the "smart criminal" would try to determine if a potential victim is armed.
Would you put a sign in your front yard advertising that your doors are left unlocked? Then why would you broadcast to the world that every person on campus is unarmed and defenseless?
Why not allow people who are otherwise legally able to conceal (those over 21 years old and possessing a license and concealed weapons permit) to carry their guns on campus?
Shrieks of horror usually meet this proposition. After all, that would only turn educational institutions into the Wild West with duels in the halls. At the very least, it would distract students from their learning experience.
But Florida is a Right-to-Carry state. This means many people are carrying guns right now - in movie theaters, grocery stores and in their cars. Yet car accidents haven't turned into shoot-outs, and moviegoers haven't been distracted from enjoying their movie. Concealed means concealed, and allowing concealed carry on campus wouldn't mean teachers spinning guns around their fingers as they write notes on the chalkboard.
So to those who think that gun-free campuses keep us safe, to those who think that allowing eligible students to carry concealed weapons on campus will lead to mass chaos, I hope you stop and think.
Stop and think how gun-free campuses have not protected anyone. And stop and think long and hard about what you would do if you were suddenly faced with a distraught student intent upon killing everyone in your classroom. The police will be there in two minutes. What can you do now?
Stop and think about that. Your life may depend on it.
Elaine DeIorio is a political science and public relations junior.
