On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, a marine-trained sniper, climbed to the observation deck in the center of the University of Texas at Austin campus loaded down with rifles, pistols, and a sawed-off shotgun. His endeavor took the lives of seventeen people and had injured nearly twice that many before he was gunned down.
Fifty years later, on the same day, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and members of the Republican legislative party pushed for the campus-carry law, guaranteeing the right to carry concealed handguns on campus. This law does not apply to all college campuses, however, only one private university has opted to allow concealed handguns on campus. Officials can map out the specifics for their campus, such as gun-free offices and sleeping areas, which would be clearly marked.
Some opponents see this law as a gateway to increase suicides, as depression and drinking is high among college students. Others see this as a preventative measure for the valuable time between the beginning of a mass shooting and the time that police arrive on scene.
As a Texan who is eager to obtain a Concealed Handgun License, I admire the fact that college students can now protect themselves if they were to get caught in the middle of one of these acts of violence. If this kind of terrorism were to happen on my campus, I personally would want to be carrying a handgun and be able to make an effort to minimize the effects set forth by a shooter. In addition to wanting to be prepared myself, I am 100% sure that both of my parents and most other relatives are in favor of being able to carry.
I have heard people say that this just opens a huge door for mass shootings to happen, however, licensed carriers must pass a classroom course and a field training in handgun use. Eligibility for the license can be found at http://www.texaschl.us/eligibility.htm. While there are a few people who would go to such an extent, most are not even eligible for the license. And although we have seen situations where licensed carriers are the criminal, such as the UTA shooting, most of the time the shooter is not licensed, whether they legally obtained the weapons or not.
One way to assist in the prevention and preparation for these events is to be educated. The NRA, as well as many other organizations, offers education courses found at http://training.nra.org/. In addition to knowing how to properly use a gun, whether you choose to carry or not, you should also take an interest in learning self-defense. Although most self-defense courses primarily instruct you based on hand-to-hand combat, most can and will teach you what to do when you have a gun pointed at you.
One of the most recommended, and least acted on, measures to decrease mass shootings is to change how the media reports it. Many times, the shooter is looking for attention, and the media gives it to them. Every. Time. The media should be focusing on the victims and their families and how individuals can help the situation rather that giving us the shooter's whole life story. I believe that 'copy cat killers' aren't just people that do something exactly the same as a previous person, but really anyone who sees a situation and thinks they can have a better outcome (in the case of mass shootings: killing more people and either getting away with it or simply not getting killed).
