At least, until today.
Moments ago, I read an article on POLITICO that reported that the state of Texas has passed a law giving students and teachers in Texas colleges, who are 21 or older and licensed, the right to carry guns on campus. I, personally, am appalled by this maneuver. The NRA would have you believe that this law will make their college campuses safer because people will think twice about opening fire on campus of there's the chance that they will be shot themselves.
I find this argument flawed. If you look at the history of shootings in colleges, high schools and (sad to say) elementary schools, most of the gunmen involved have taken their own lives. Death is something which these people are already prepared to face. So why would the possibility of being shot by someone else dissuade them from this act when they already intend to take their own life?
It's sad that not even three years after the shooting at Sandy Hook we're talking about the easing of gun laws as opposed to their restricting.
Gun rights activists are so caugh up in their right to own whatever gun they wish that they don't stop think about how times have changed since the Bill of Rights was first written. I seriously doubt that the Founding Fathers had laws such as these in mind when they drafted the Second Ammendment. In fact, I'm sure they would have endorsed gun restrictions following the murder of two dozen five-year-olds in their own classroom at school.
When the Second Ammendment was written, many people lived on farms and plantations. Their closest neighbors were miles away. Local law enforcement was scarce and not a 911-phone call away. So many people who lived outside of the cities were isolated and on their own, without the security of relying on help from anyone but themselves. Thus, the Second Ammendment was written to guarantee that these people and their families who lived miles from civilization could defen themselves. After all, relations between Colonial Americans an Native Americans weren't exactly rosy, in addition to the threat of outlaws. These people had to be allowed to defend themselves.
So I seriously doubt that the Founding Fathers would look at today's law enforcement officials and believe that the average American needed an AK-47 to defend themselves. Gun rights activists love to tout that they should be armed to defend themselves from our own government, but I think that argument is an insult to the men and women of our Armed Services. After all, I really doubt that any uniformed soldier would obey an order to attack their fellow Americans on American soil. They'd sooner accept dishonorable discharge, which wouldn't be so dishonorable if they're standing up for what's right.
I find the arguments of the far right to be deeply flawed and based in irrational fear. These new development in Texas colleges is quite alarming and I wouldn't be surprised if these schools see both fewer students and teachers. I guess time will tell. As far as I'm concerned, if this law remains in Texas when we're looking at colleges with our kids in fourteen to sixteen years, Texas colleges and any other state that passes similar laws in the future will not be on our list for consideration.
It'll be their loss.
