Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Opinion

Jake Corbin [Click to enlarge]

The threat of a gunman walking on campus and opening fire has become an all-too-real facet of the college experience.

The Virginia Tech shooting is just one of several horrible incidents that has left students and faculty members wondering, "Is my school going to be next?"

While that is a valid question, the more important one to ask is: What can be done to stop these tragedies from happening in the first place?

One group that thinks it has found the answer is Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC).

The grass roots organization - which boasts over 25,000 members - is pushing to have licensed gun holders carry concealed handguns on college campuses.

"Would you rather just sit there and cower underneath a desk when someone executes you, or would you rather have a chance to defend your life?" said Michael Flitcraft, a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati and a SCCC organizer, in a CNN.com report. "That's what it really boils down to."

The organization - which sells everything from SCCC T-shirts to thong underwear on its website - is looking for a chance to "defend their life and take out that threat," according to Flitcraft.

Sorry, but that just isn't a good idea.

Other than the illogical conclusion of solving violence with violence, there is one blaring problem with their plan of action: lack of experience.

The regular Joes who would flash their pieces at the first sign of trouble are not prepared to handle a volatile situation like a school shooting.

These people may have received hours of gun safety training to obtain their licenses, but they don't have the proper experience for dealing with a crisis situation.

"I understand the feeling of wanting to protect oneself, but most individuals are not fully trained to handle a high-stress situation," said Felix Barba, director of Arts and Letters for Associated Students Inc.

"In that situation, with the kind of panic it brings, the people with weapons might make snap judgments; they might not be thinking clearly."

Simply put, split-second decisions involving life-or-death situations should be left to the police officers who have been trained to do so, not some guy with a hero complex and a Wild West attitude.

There is one other small issue to consider.

Allowing students to shoot back at would-be campus gunmen would create a nightmare for police responding to the attack.

"When security shows up, there won't be time to find out the good guys from the bad guys," said Jennifer Marquering, speech pathology graduate student.

If several people are shooting off a barrage of bullets at once, how are the authorities to determine who the gunman is and who are "defenders" of the university?

The answer: they wouldn't.

The fact that Utah already allows students to carry firearms at all public universities, and a handful of other states are considering passing similar legislation, is a travesty to levelheaded thinking.

But what is the answer?

That's hard to say, but Gene Ferrara, the police chief at Flitcraft's university, noted in the same CNN.com report that "all of the research shows someone knew before the shooting started that the shooting was going to happen."

A bigger focus needs to be placed on the vigilance of others to help stop the casualties from happening long before the trigger is pulled.

Logical thinking must prevail over the cowboy, "shoot 'em up," action-movie mentality of organizations like SCCC.

Using guns to fight guns is not the answer. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Jake Corbin can be reached at jcorbin@statehornet.com

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