Carry on campus?

With mass shootings increasing, if you were a faculty/staff at a university that allows you to carry a concealed firearm on campus, would you?

 

Of course not. The "hero" scenario almost never works out.

When you have an active shooter in your workplace, you're supposed to--first and foremost--seek cover and concealment. Under no circumstances are you to confront the shooter, nor give away your position (and others positions, too). Hardly an opportunity to return fire.

Then there are the myriad scenarios where introducing a gun will make things worse. Interpersonal conflicts, accidents, etc.

We should be getting at the root cause of the problem: voters who elect officials who not only fail to act on this scourge, but (as we saw in Texas) proactively work to make it worse.

 

True.

First: Run
Second: Hide
Third: Fight (last resort)

 

In Canada, I had zero interest in having a gun. I never felt unsafe. In the US though, I've been seriously considering getting one for home defense just because police response time is long. Most active shooters are not stopped by civilians but by police (https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-20-year-review-2000-2019-060121.pdf/view page 25, of 345 active shooter incidents only 4 - or 1.2% were killed by civilians), even in states like Texas where many people open carry.

And there's been more than one person who had responded to a shooting being killed by responding police, like John Hurley (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/28/john-hurley-hero-police-shooting/) who was a civilian and Jemel Roberson who was an armed security guard (https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/15/us/chicago-area-security-guard-police-shooting/index.html).

As chrisjm18 says, Run, Hide, Fight. I don't need a gun to run or hide so on a college campus I'd probably be just as safe without one.

 

I was a police officer three non-consecutive times by I was 26 years old. I graduated from my first police academy at 18+. So, I was introduced to carrying a concealed firearm off-duty at an early age. However, when I left LE in January 2017 for good, I didn't own a firearm for 2 years. From January 2019 until July 2021, I had a concealed firearm while living in Philadelphia. I have never been required to use a firearm either as a police officer or as a civilian. I was contemplating getting one as I plan my relocation to a state where I can carry on campus. However, I read the article, Opinion: Thinking of buying a gun for self-defense? Don’t do it, and decided against getting one for personal protection. I also believe that having a firearm provides a false sense of security. In addition, some people are likely to escalate a situation when they have a firearm because it gives a sense of boldness and "superiority." After yesterday's shooting, I started to consider whether I wanted to get a firearm. However, based on the stats you provided about mass shootings and what I already learned about the self-defense rationale, it seems the "good guy with a gun" scenario is uncommon in self-defense and mass shooter incidents.

 

Yes, this gives me pause. I worked in suicide prevention and know how much higher deaths are when there is a gun in the home - suicide or homicide. The likelihood of a home invasion is low, and the possibility of my kids hurting or killing themselves with a gun is high.

 

Grew up learning to shoot/hunt as a kid. Spent years shooting in leagues, gun clubs, competitions, etc. Attended a lot of training events, high stress scenarios, etc. Have a CCP. Still likely wouldn’t carry on campus if it were allowed. The risk/reward ratio in this political environment is harrowing.

 

Mass shooters use assault weapons for maximum kill. Makes sense. That's what the AR15/M16 was designed to do, to kill as many people at medium range as possible. Now why a civilian would need such a weapon I have given up asking but there are three gun shops in my mid-size city that will sell you one.

Going up against a mass shooter who has an assault weapon, 100 round magazine and body armor with a Glock 9 mm isn't a very attractive option.

I don't know whether it could be enforced or how but a complete felony level ban on civilian possession of assault weapons, including a mandatory buy back program, might be about the minimum effective action Congress could take.

Won't happen in my lifetime. We love our guns more than we love our children. That's been clear for fifty years.

 

Oh, and when I was encouraged to carry I refused for all the reasons others have posted here.

 

There will, however, be no interruption in the flow of "thoughts and prayers".

 

There is a heavily regulated near-ban on assault weapons since 1986. The AR-15 isn’t classified as an assault weapon because it isn’t select fire.

 

Nevertheless it is an assault weapon. The last time I checked even the M16 no longer has a full auto setting. It can only squirt out three rounds at a time. The M16 I fired for familiarization many years ago was full auto and it was a bizarre experience. Like watering the lawn except with bullets.

 

I generally carried an ancient .45 automatic.

 

By the way, what are the "thoughts and prayers " people actually thinking about and praying for?

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nra-wayne-lapierre-prank-thoughts-prayers-b2090526.html?amp

 

Read the link and saw the pics. Q: How is that small picture of six female athletes a "fail?" Lovely! I'd cheer for each and every lady on that squad any day!

 

In principal - Yes.
In my current reality - No. Several years ago, I elected to stop carrying.