What could possibly go wrong?

[GuitaristOfHell]

Texas lawmakers okay law to allow college kids to bring guns on campus | The Raw Story

Good thing my college isn't in Texas. You're seriously going to let college students have guns on campus? Where most have not reached the age of about 23 when your reasoning is more developed. Look for not a Texas chainsaw massacre, but a Texas College Campus Massacre. I doubt most of them will act responsibly with guns on Campus.

Also, it's not like college students don't drink to the point of where their reasoning is horrendous.

 

[Don Vito]

Texas.

 

[Randy]

We touched on this a few times in the last "gun" thread.

While I had a distaste for this fact, it's true that a lot of students (especially in Texas) carry guns in their car. I think openly allowing them into the classroom another can of worms but still, I'm just making the point that a LARGE number (majority?) students in Texas own guns and even bring them to campus (leaving them in their car) already.

I bring all this up as both a positive and negative point. They're there and it's not all out war all the time but, likewise, the fact they're so nearby hasn't helped much in preventing any of these "random attacks" that we're focused on these days. All of the incidents I can find were resolved by either law enforcement or unarmed civilians.

My take away from this and the volume of violent crimes that occur in places that are heavily saturated with guns leads me to believe the "other factors" in attacks/crime render being an armed civilian nearly useless. Statistically, at least.

My bigger concerns come from two places.

One, having it legal to have your gun at your side while you're at school (whereas you "weren't allowed" before) open up a lot of new variables. Angsty tweenagers in new and tense situations, prone to making rash decisions. I can't help but imagine that if EVERYBODY partook of this right, meaning everyone carried, I imagine the "number of casualties" at the hand of an attacker could potentially decrease but the of incidents of escalation would increase.

My other concern (which I've voiced here) is the climate of changing "what's normal". To date, if you're on a Texas university campus, it'd probably throw up some red flags if you see somebody walking around with a gun sticking out of their waistband. If the "new normal" becomes getting used to people carrying openly or at least knowing everbody's carry all the time, I'd imagine the visceral reaction (at first, at least) might be some increase paranoia/concern; if nothing else, an increased awareness of the situation. After a while, you get used to being around people carrying openly and become desensitized to seeing that. I'd be concerned with the state of being settled into that situation and when the scenario you're "prepping yourself for" finally occurs, it catches you off guard even more than if you weren't desensitized to being around loaded weapons constantly. Just a thought.

 

[GuitaristOfHell]

We touched on this a few times in the last "gun" thread.

While I had a distaste for this fact, it's true that a lot of students (especially in Texas) carry guns in their car. I think openly allowing them into the classroom another can of worms but still, I'm just making the point that a LARGE number (majority?) students in Texas own guns and even bring them to campus (leaving them in their car) already.

I bring all this up as both a positive and negative point. They're there and it's not all out war all the time but, likewise, the fact they're so nearby hasn't helped much in preventing any of these "random attacks" that we're focused on these days. All of the incidents I can find were resolved by either law enforcement or unarmed civilians.

My take away from this and the volume of violent crimes that occur in places that are heavily saturated with guns leads me to believe the "other factors" in attacks/crime render being an armed civilian nearly useless. Statistically, at least.

My bigger concerns come from two places.

One, having it legal to have your gun at your side while you're at school (whereas you "weren't allowed" before) open up a lot of new variables. Angsty tweenagers in new and tense situations, prone to making rash decisions. I can't help but imagine that if EVERYBODY partook of this right, meaning everyone carried, I imagine the "number of casualties" at the hand of an attacker could potentially decrease but the of incidents of escalation would increase.

My other concern (which I've voiced here) is the climate of changing "what's normal". To date, if you're on a Texas university campus, it'd probably throw up some red flags if you see somebody walking around with a gun sticking out of their waistband. If the "new normal" becomes getting used to people carrying openly or at least knowing everbody's carry all the time, I'd imagine the visceral reaction (at first, at least) might be some increase paranoia/concern; if nothing else, an increased awareness of the situation. After a while, you get used to being around people carrying openly and become desensitized to seeing that. I'd be concerned with the state of being settled into that situation and when the scenario you're "prepping yourself for" finally occurs, it catches you off guard even more than if you weren't desensitized to being around loaded weapons constantly. Just a thought.

It's scary as hell.

 

[erotophonophilia]

If a potential gunman, was under the assumption, that his potential victims where armed, he most likely would avoid doing it in the first place. I can only think of one spree that occurred in TX, and he climbed up a bell tower so nobody could shoot back.

 

[pink freud]

If a potential gunman, was under the assumption, that his potential victims where armed, he most likely would avoid doing it in the first place. I can only think of one spree that occurred in TX, and he climbed up a bell tower so nobody could shoot back.

It really depends. I have it on good authority that many members of serious gangs arm themselves, and we all know that rival gang members never shoot at each other...

And there's the fact that most spree shooters don't really seem to have an exit-plan where they make it out alive.

All in all there are two factors to the armed-populace theory: Does having everybody armed lessen the potential for gun violence? In the event that gun violence does happen is the magnitude of that violence greater or lesser than if everybody wasn't armed?

 

[Sunyata]

Well next time there's a school shooting in Texas, there won't be any excuse for the "good guy with a gun" to not come and save the day right?

 

[GuitaristOfHell]

Well next time there's a school shooting in Texas, there won't be any excuse for the "good guy with a gun" to not come and save the day right?

 

[flint757]

Well next time there's a school shooting in Texas, there won't be any excuse for the "good guy with a gun" to not come and save the day right?

Since I go to a Texas University lets hope that isn't the case. We've actually had instances of armed intruders on school property in Texas schools in recent years. A couple years ago some dude at UT (University of Texas) held up in the school library with a gun. And at U of H (University of Houston) you'll hear gun shots late at night just on the outskirt of the campus. I can say that crime and violence hasn't gone down in Texas just because open and concealed carry are more common.

University of Texas shooting: Gunman opens fire at library, commits suicide - NY Daily News

 

[Xaios]

Some things are just a bad idea.

This is another.

 

[DoubleAA]

Anyone else catch this part?

"The new law will require that universities allow properly licensed gun owners to keep their weapons in their vehicles, although universities can still prohibit people from openly carrying weapons to class."

 

[flint757]

That holding true I doubt any University here, barring community colleges perhaps (where as far as I'm aware nothing ever happens ), will allow it. If they can't bring them to class then they also won't walk around on campus with them because the whole point of being on campus is to, you know, enter buildings for class.

If that holds up this whole schtick was a whole lot of show with basically no point to it. That's most laws/bills I suppose though, especially here in Texas.

[EDIT]

'Openly carrying' makes me thing they are implying that concealed carry would still be okay (maybe not). Too tired to dig for more info.

 

[DoubleAA]

'Openly carrying' makes me thing they are implying that concealed carry would still be okay (maybe not). Too tired to dig for more info.

They won't be allowed to carry on their person unless the school allows it. The law only applies to their cars.

"Lawmakers in Texas approved a bill on Sunday that will let college kids possess guns on campus so long as they keep them in their vehicles"

I can't see a lot of schools allowing carrying in class.

 

[flint757]

Neither do I.

Frankly I see this also only benefiting people in small towns/community colleges. In major campuses people either don't drive or leave their car parked in a huge unsupervised parking lot where cars get robbed regularly (at least that's the case at my school ). Not the best place to put a gun away for safe keeping.

 

[GuitaristOfHell]

Some things are just a bad idea.

This is another.

+rep

 

[hairychris]

Neither do I.

Frankly I see this also only benefiting people in small towns/community colleges. In major campuses people either don't drive or leave their car parked in a huge unsupervised parking lot where cars get robbed regularly (at least that's the case at my school ). Not the best place to put a gun away for safe keeping.

Yeah, I can see that going wrong, quickly.

Isn't it the case that a significant number of guns in the hands of gang & etc comes from home invasions/burglaries?

In fact I can't see this new law being useful in any way. To - supposedly, in NRA fantasy-land - respond to a shooter people would have to hit their cars which won't help if it's in a 2nd floor classroom, and the opportunity for misadventure/theft/etc is just the icing on the cake.

Fail, IMO.

 

[L1ght]

"Before starting this test, clear your desk, take out your pens and pencils, turn off your cell phones, and engage the safety on your firearm."

"Okay, begin."

 

[wat]

 

[matt397]

I love Canada.