Dear Editor,
As a college student I am thankful that schools are taking greater safety precautions, but disappointed that the vast majority of students are denied the most basic right our system offers, the right to defend themselves. As the many schools shootings have proved, and as the recent tragedy in Illinois has highlighted, the only guns prevented by a "gun free zone" are those that would be used to protect the victims.
Few remember the shooting in Pearl Mississippi, where a faculty member retrieved a weapon from his vehicle and stopped the rampage long before the Police were able to arrive. How many lives were saved by having a responsible gun owner present, and how many lives were lost by forcing him to leave the building to retrieve the weapon rather then carry it with him, we will never know. But we do know that his actions prevented the killer from having several more minutes of free reign before the authorities arrived.
One organization, Students for Concealed Carry (concealedcarry.org), is trying to solve this problem by once again giving people the right to self defense. If parents really want their children to be safe, then they should urge the schools to allow legally licensed and law abiding students to carry a concealed weapon. Until that time, those obeying who law will continue to be victimized by those who do not.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXX
Senior, Brigham Young University-Idaho
