Student Group Wants More Guns on Campus

Signs and a replica of a crime scene draw attention to a booth on the campus of Texas State University-San Marcos in San Marcos, Texas, Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. A group at the school are among 8,000 students nationwide who have joined the non-partisan Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, arguing that students and faculty should be allowed to do so on college campuses. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay - AP)

Like the students at TSU-San Marcos who were pushing Monday for a student government resolution on the issue, students at more than 110 colleges and universities went to class wearing empty holsters, said Scott Lewis, the national group's spokesman.

"We're not proposing to arm every student. We're not proposing that every freshmen get a handbook and a Glock," he said.

But he said students who are licensed to carry concealed firearms to movie theaters, public parks and other places should be allowed to take them on campus as well.

Candace Soya, a 20-year-old student at TSU-San Marcos, said she fears chaotic shootouts. If someone decided to open fire on the tree-lined quad in the middle of her campus, armed students would likely make matters worse, she said.

"It's not a situation where you can fight fire with fire," Soya said.

But advocates pushing for the campus concealed carry right say it's not just incidents like the one at Virginia Tech that create concern.

Campuses in higher-crime urban neighborhoods also pose risks for students, said Michael Flitcraft, a 23-year-old mechanical engineering student at the University of Cincinnati.

He argues, like most gun rights advocates, that weapons-free regulations only deter law-abiding students, not thugs or mentally ill shooters.

"Laws only affect the people who voluntarily abide by them," Flitcraft said.

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On the Net:

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus: http://concealedcampus.org

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: http://www.bradycampaign.org