“When I look around at my classmates, these bright but young and naive scholars, I come to the realization I was wrong. If the unthinkable happens, who will protect them? Who will they turn to? I know I will once more step into the breach.”
There has been a very heated debate in the US and especially in Texas about concealed carry on campuses. Texas law permits individuals who have obtained a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry their loaded, concealed weapon in college and university buildings. Each college and university may determine certain sensitive areas and buildings where concealed weapons will continue to be prohibited. Each college and university must publicly display campus policies on the official school website, as well as widely publicize it among correspondence with the institution’s faculty, staff, and students.
Since the law went into effect, little change to day-to-day life has been observed. No wild west scenarios, no uptick in gun violence or even gun-related incidents on campus have been reported. About the only result has been from several professors either refusing to take employment at a Texas university or a couple that have left Texas universities due to their personal anti-gun stance or political feelings.
Gun rights laws are widely seen as conservative Republican issues. During this last election cycle, the anti-gun lobby and mainly the Democratic party made dire predictions of massive gun violence occurring since Texas now has “armed campuses.” Those fears of rampant gun violence just did not materialize.
Because of my over four decades in law enforcement, I knew what info was good, where to find it, and what to disregard from the plethora of wild assumptions of the media and other sources.
Not long ago, I wrote an article on the senseless shooting of a police officer on the Texas Tech University campus where I am attending for my law degree. In that case, a campus police officer was murdered while in the university police station by an arrested but unrestrained student. During that incident and the university lockdown that occurred as it was going on, I kept my classmates updated as to what was going on via social media and the internal messaging system we had set up among ourselves.
My information was concise, accurate, and at many times faster than the official notices from the school. Because of my over four decades in law enforcement, I knew what info was good, where to find it, and what to disregard from the plethora of wild assumptions of the media and other sources. My classmates knew my history, and they looked to me for info, understanding, and advice.
The next morning at school, only one of our instructors addressed the incident at all. None of them were prepared to discuss what had happened or address many of the students’ concerns. It was a very noticeably subdued day in classes. Only one professor engaged us, and that professor asked me what we as students thought about the events of the night before. I gave my analysis and my viewpoint of the senselessness of the entire event, cleaned up a few misconceptions, and we moved on.
Later that day, there was a general briefing in one of the large auditoriums. Counselors were on hand to discuss student fears as the scourge of school shootings had come to our campus. Some students took advantage of their services. I am sure they are a valuable resource, and I know several students who were not able to bring themselves to attend class the next day or so due to fear or anxiety. Remember, this is law school and everyone is a little older, supposed to be smarter, and will have to face stressful situations should they go into the field of law. These are adults, even though most are younger than my own child.
After the briefing, one of the deans that I have come to know called me over to the side and asked me to sit for a moment. He knew I had been involved in keeping at least some students informed in almost real time and wanted my thoughts on how the shooting of the officer could have occurred. The conversation was a little awkward at first, but once some common ground was established things flowed smoothly. I gave him my honest opinion on how the shooting had been wholly avoidable and how, in my opinion, law enforcement had failed to follow correct procedure and protocols on many levels.
He wanted to know how I felt about Texas’s law allowing concealed carry of firearms by licensed students on campus. He also said he was not allowed to ask, but knowing my background, he said he assumed I was carrying a firearm. At the time, I was not.
Being in law enforcement most of my adult life, carrying a firearm was like putting on shoes. It was not even something you gave a second thought. Strapping on my pistol was just a regular part of life. It was like those tv commercials, “Never leave home without it.”
The shooting that day also brought something else sharply into focus. The campus was not prepared if a real active shooter situation had happened. The shooting in this instance was nothing more than a police/criminal encounter that occurs many times every day all over the US. This was not a disgruntled student or employee hell-bent on taking out as many as possible as they meandered through the school, but what if it had been? In my opinion, the campus police, or any campus police for that matter, are not ready for that situation.
When I left law enforcement several years ago to pursue this new career, I thought I could leave that part of my life behind—put it on the shelf, so to speak. I looked forward to not having to be careful if my shirt or coat stayed in place and didn’t have to worry that I had to readjust my status if I wanted to go into a local bar for a drink with friends, but unfortunately, the world around me says otherwise.
From the day of the Texas Tech shooting, I started carrying my firearm again. I found out several of the staff also carried on campus. Our university has the appropriate signs posted in the areas that firearms are not allowed by statute, and when certain dignitaries or officials come to the campus, that area is widened, but for the most part, concealed carry on campus is allowed, and I do.
Is concealed carry right for everyone? No, it is not. But for trained and competent people legally carrying a firearm, they may become the first line of defense until our emergency responders get there. The shooting on campus drug me right back into the mindset that I thought, even for a little while, I could leave to someone else.
When I look around at my classmates, these bright but young and naive scholars, I come to the realization I was wrong. If the unthinkable happens, who will protect them? Who will they turn to? I know I will once more step into the breach. There is no other choice, and being armed, I will at least have a fighting chance.
