A bad idea

THE ISSUE

An Alabama state senator has prefiled a bill in the Legislature that would allow certain students to carry firearms on college campuses.

The tragedy at Virginia Tech last spring is still resonating with many, including a state senator who has prefiled a bill that would allow certin college students to carry concealed weapons on campus.

Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, said allowing qualified students to carry weapons on campus could prevent the sort of tragedy that claimed 32 lives, plus that of the shooter, at Virginia Tech on April 16. During a two-hour period, a student with a history of mental problems shot and killed 27 students and five faculty members.

Erwin believes a few legally armed students could have thwarted the slaughter. He also said allowing students to carry weapons to class could prevent a similar tragedy from occurring on an Alabama campus.

In theory, Erwin's reasoning seems logical. If a legally armed student could stop a rampaging gunman, it's possible many lives could be saved. But the reality of armed students roaming state campuses is much less romantic or plausible.

First, few students these days have ever handled a pistol or spnt time on a firing range learning how to use one. Second, virtually no students have undergone training in how to react to the sort of chaos that ensues in situations like the one at Virginia Tech. The confusion and panic is difficult for trained police officers to manage; there's no reason to expect students to cope with the madness.

And then there's the sheer unpredictability of armed students roaming a campus. Does anyone really cherish the thought of stressed out students carrying pistols on their hips or in their handbags during exams or during the alcohol-fueled celebrations associated with ball games? We think not.

Erwin's bill would limit armed students to those enrolled in Reserve Officer Training Corps programs. As with state law, they would have to be 21 to obtain a concealed-carry permit and have a clean record. Regardless, it simply isn't a good idea to allow students to arm themselves as a matter of daily life on campus.

Instead, a few armed faculty and staff - who have received firearms training - would make more sense. Mature judgment is needed in a crisis. Security systems are also necessary to help protect students in the event of a shooting - systems that make communication with authorities quick and easy.

We encourage the Legislature to keep this bill bottled up in committee and focus in instead on more realistic approaches to campus safety.