In Tuesday’s issue of The Daily Reveille, my colleague Charlie Bonacquisti argued for the  right to conceal carry on college campuses. I wholeheartedly disagree with her.
Before you write me off as a bleeding heart liberal, you should know I am a hunting, shooting, gun-owning and (mostly) Second-Amendment-supporting red-blooded southerner. However, LSU and campuses around the nation are no place for concealed carry.
To begin her argument, Bonaquisti suggests gun-free zones counterintuitively create inviting stages for criminals and the mentally ill. There is simply no evidence to support this claim. In fact, I can find no reasonable studies suggesting any statistical difference in crime between campuses with and without concealed carry.
If, statistically speaking, eliminating LSU’s gun-free designation will not increase crime, then why would I suggest potential infringing on Second Amendment rights?
Allowing concealed carry on campus creates the sense that it’s more acceptable to have guns in dorm rooms, greek houses and offices than it already is. It’s no secret firearms are on campus despite the laws, but encouraging a culture that is more acceptable of guns on campus is a dangerous proposition.
Imagine armed people at an LSU game. Drunk young adults and firearms is a worse combination than, well young adults and firearms. It takes one accident in a fraternity house to kill or injure several people.
Last year, a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Georgia was arrested for firing a weapon at another fraternity house, according to Online Athens. This non-fatal shooting, one of 23 incidents on college campuses in 2015, could’ve been much worse.
LSU is no stranger to heated events. From the fire and brimstone preachers in Free Speech Plaza to flag burnings, we’ve seen it all. Now, I’m not saying adding guns into the mix will transform these moments into violent outbursts or students into murderers, but why add the possibility?
There is also the issue of mental health. In 2012, the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors found that 96 percent of directors report the number of students with significant psychological problems is a growing concern for their institution. If this is the situation on campus, having guns in dorms is a serious concern.
LSU has an obligation to keep its students safe, and allowing firearms on campus defeats that goal.
Bonacquisti offers great suggestions to increase security if LSU allowed concealed carry. Registering firearms should be a necessity to know where the guns on campus are, especially given the increased chance of theft on a college campus. I also support mandatory gun safety classes.
However, who is going to pay for this? Should students pay through fee bills? I can tell you right now I would protest having to pay administration and education expenses to let someone carry a firearm on my campus.
If not students, then the debt falls on the state. The way Louisiana’s budget has been over the past few years, LSU would have a hard time getting funding for a desk, much less gun safety courses.
We already pay for campus protection with LSUPD. If the purpose of the Second Amendment is to provide us with a militia for the citizens’ protection, fair enough. I am still going to choose LSUPD over an LSU militia any day.
When the tragic murder of LSU-Eunice student Mayci Breaux happened in a Lafayette theater last year, police officers arrived in less than one minute, likely saving dozens of lives.
The shooter was sitting directly behind his victims. Someone with a concealed firearm could not have saved Breaux, nor could they have responded more quickly than the authorities.
Sadly though, most discussions about concealed carry revolve around a citizen’s right to be a hero. Possessing a firearm in an active shooter situation puts you in more danger. A 2009 study by the American Journal of Public Health found those possessing a gun during a gun assault, given time to defend themselves, are over five times more likely to be shot.
The real heroes are not walking around with firearms waiting to shoot an assailant in their best John Wayne impression. The real heroes are supporting protection and prevention through efficiency and accountability in police departments, proper gun control and mental health legislation.
Terrorists won’t target LSU more because of its gun-free policy, just like allowing concealed carry at Umpqua Community College did not prevent a student from killing nine people in October.
I am not discounting any students’ fear of safety on campus. State and LSU officials along with students should constantly collaborate to create a safe environment. I think it’s more than acceptable if every student wants to carry a non-lethal Taser in their backpack because they fear for their lives. Firearms, however, have no place on campus.
Jay is a 21-year-old finance senior from St. Simons Island, Georgia. You can reach him on Twitter @hjcranford.
Read Charlie Bonacquisti’s article on why LSU should allow conceal carry here.