On most Thursday nights in the Student Union, a group of students gathers in front of Einstein Bros Bagels and talks about bringing guns to school.
This is the Students for Concealed Carry club, and though the University does not recognize them, they are affiliated with a national organization, according to sociology senior and club president Philip Egusquiza.
The club hopes to work with the regional and national chapters to raise awareness about a recent Louisiana amendment that guarded the Second Amendment in Louisiana and eventually remove the “gun-free zone” from LSU’s campus, Egusquiza said.
“There is literally a line on the edge of campus I cannot cross with a gun or I’m a felon,” Egusquiza said. “I’m the same law-abiding citizen with a gun across the street and on campus.”
Egusquiza said the national organization has a “holster protest” once a year, which the club will participate in, where students carry an empty holster on their person during a day in April.
Brian Apple, electrical engineering senior and club member, said people might be against them because they do not understand what this club is asking for.
“We are asking for the option to bring a licensed gun on campus,” Apple said. “We are not forcing a gun into every student’s hands.”
Apple said it takes a lot of work to get a concealed carry permit, including thorough background checks and an age requirement of 21.
Mechanical engineering senior Grant Brumfield said state police “pulled my medical records and took my fingerprints, along with more of the extensive screening to have my concealed carry license.”
Apple and Brumfield are getting certification to be instructors for those trying to get licenses to carry a concealed weapon, Apple said.
Egusquiza said other schools in the country that allow licensed guns on campus, including the University of Colorado at Boulder, are safer than gun-free campuses.
“Campuses who allow concealed carry have had zero crimes with firearms or suicides,” Egusquiza said. “You are more likely to die from a hammer or drowning in a pool than being shot.”
Egusquiza said their meetings consist of working on increasing awareness on social media, but without an adviser, it cannot have official club meetings or events.
“We use time in meetings to find an adviser,” Egusquiza said. “But everyone either didn’t want to help or didn’t have time to.”
Andrea Mathis, communication studies junior, said the campus has no need for students with guns.
“Why do you need that?” Mathis said. “I don’t understand why they need guns on campus. Do they feel that unsafe?”
Elementary education sophomore Courtney Braud said she wants to stay protected but is worried about who would be carrying the guns.
“I’m not comfortable with some random student carrying around a gun,” Braud said. “But if something were to happen, a student with a gun could help us.”
Egusquiza said he hopes people realize the club members are trying to make the campus a safer place.
“There is zero correlation between crime and guns,” Egusquiza said. “We go to school where if someone wanted to do something, we have signs up that say we can’t do anything about it.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect the following correction: In the first edition of the story, Philip Egusquiza’s name was spelled Philip Egusquiva. We regret the error.
“There is literally a line on the edge of campus I cannot cross with a gun or I’m a felon.”
