Does campus carry make campus
scary?
By: Tanner Murphy
Throughout the state and even across the nation, news of the
recently implemented campus carry laws within Texas universities has polarized
students, parents and educators alike. Starting on August 1st, licensed
gun-owners 21 years of age or older may now legally carry concealed firearms on
college campuses. The consequences of such a law remain to be seen, but that
hasn’t stopped people from forming strong opinions on the matter.
 |
| Elisa Castro, Texas State Senior Photo by: Tanner Murphy |
While the right to carry concealed handguns has overjoyed
many supporters of the 2nd Amendment, others express concern for
their safety.
“I get that this whole thing is supposed to make people feel
more protected, but that doesn’t apply to everybody,” said Elisa Castro, a
psychology major from Texas State University. “I’m a minority. A pansexual Hispanic
feminist. I shouldn’t have to be afraid to be myself because some hick with a
gun might get offended by my existence.”
Others, like Texas State freshman Amanda Livingston, take a
more empathetic stance.
 |
| Amanda Livingston, Texas State Freshman Photo by: Kim Livingston |
“I think it’s really sad that some people feel endangered
enough to feel the need to have a gun,” she says. “It’s a shame to think that
nobody feels safe anymore and that there are people in this world willing to
hurt others and scare them into feeling vulnerable.”
It should be noted that certain restrictions to this law
have been put into place, such as prohibiting firearms from certain locations
on campus and reserving the right to deny them at campus events.
A few of these campus carry naysayers had some concessions
to make, however. Upon being asked to provide an argument to the contrary of
her stance, freshman Leigh Anne Crowell had a few humorous words to say in
defense of the people who choose to exercise their right to bear arms.
 |
| Leigh Anne Crowell Texas State Freshman Photo by: Tanner Murphy |
“The only thing I can think of at the moment would be to
protect us from this bizarre clown epidemic,” said Crowell, before backing up
her original argument by saying, “seeing as there aren’t typically a bunch of
masked crazies on the loose I really don’t believe that this new policy is at
all necessary.”
For a closer look at all of the policies and restrictions regarding campus carry at Texas State, check out their campus carry webpage.
No comments:
Post a Comment