Texas is poised to give college students and professors the right to carry concealed handguns on campus. Supporters of the bill, including Gov. Rick Perry (R) and more than half the state House, say letting students carry guns would help them defend themselves in the event of deadly school shootings like the 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech. Opponents say it will only make college campuses more dangerous. Would such a move abet or prevent school shootings? (Watch a Fox News report about the bill)
What a misguided idea: Maybe another student with a gun "could have stopped Seung-hui Cho's rampage" at Virginia Tech, says the Los Angeles Times in an editorial. But guns aren't just "tools of self-defense;" they are "also tools of suicide, accidental shootings, intimidation, and murder." Colleges are rife with drug abuse, "romantic entanglements," and academic pressure. "Adding firearms to this volatile mix is a spectacularly bad idea."
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