Concealed guns on campus would only cause problems

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national organization advocating on behalf of allowing students to carry firearms for self-defense purposes on college campuses, staged a protest last week here at the Storrs campus. The protest, which was purposefully juxtaposed with the 10-year anniversary of the brutal Columbine attacks, lasted the entire week. Protesters wore empty gun holsters to protest against UConn's policy prohibiting the possession of concealed firearms on campus. Such a policy is absolutely necessary for the protection of the general student body, and should not be overturned.

First and foremost, the minimum age to obtain a concealed weapons permit in the state of Connecticut is 21. Most students do not even meet this minimum age requirement - even the leader of the protests on campus, Phil Axelrod, is only 20, and not of legal age to carry a concealed weapon if UConn allowed him to.

It is also worth noting the irony that the students are protesting the law against carrying concealed weapons by openly flaunting gun holsters around campus, and in plain view of every camera and reporter willing to do an interview; consequently, the story has been picked up in several different states. That doesn't seem particularly "concealed."

UConn is fortunate enough to have a highly skilled and very well funded police department of our own. On a campus as concentrated as ours, with so many police readily available, a police officer is never far away from any potential emergency. This addresses the argument of some of the concealed carry proponents, who assert that police officers frequently take too long to respond to emergencies.

Perhaps the most convincing argument in opposition of the concealed carry permit was on display vividly last weekend all across campus. With the thousands of students who partake in the use of alcohol and/or drugs on a regular basis on the campus, the last thing we need to add to the mix are legalized firearms. College students, who notoriously exhibit brash and impulsive behavior anyway, are scientifically proven to be even less rational under the influence of alcohol. Studies show that alcohol significantly increases the risk of deadly firearm accidents.

UConn should maintain its policy prohibiting firearm possession on university property. Though an armed student might be able to fend off a would-be shooting rampage, such an unlikely event could just as easily be thwarted by police. Most importantly, countless other misuses of firearms would be prevented. Many would agree that the last thing college kids need mixed in with alcohol is a firearm.