- Yes: A person that has completed the required training and earned their Texas CHL has proven that he/she is a trusted and law-abiding citizen that has made a conscious decision not to be a victim and to potentially defend the defenseless.
- Yes: Those who want to do harm will do harm regardless of a concealed handgun license. This would allow staff and students to protect themselves against this type of violence.
2. If concealed carry was allowed on Baylor’s campus and you had a concealed carry license, would you carry a concealed handgun on campus?
- Yes: It is an unalienable right. I have the personal responsibility to protect my life, and the lives of those who are unable to protect themselves. Not only would a student with a concealed handgun have the possibility of thwarting a mass shooting, but what about the walk home from the library at 2 a.m.? If I am not mistaken, the number of armed robberies surrounding campus are in the double digits since I have been a student at Baylor.
- No: I do not own a gun, I do not know how to use a gun, I believe my possession of a gun would potentially create an unhealthy power dynamic between me or other armed students and those who choose to go unarmed, I do not believe myself or other students fit to potentially unilaterally take a life.
3. Would you feel safer or less safe on campus if concealed carry was allowed?
- More safe: People will argue that a lot of the shootings on school campuses are by kids who also obtain their firearm illegally. However, in all the recent shootings there was not one person armed. Now I believe that if you had maybe a few people with guns, the outcome would have been different and lives would have been saved. Put guns in the hands of good people, we all know criminals will get them anyway they can.
- Less safe: More guns don’t create safety. More guns mean more chances for accidents to happen. Every responsible gun owner, even the most ardent gun rights supporter, knows that even in the face of abundant safety precautions, accidents do sometimes happen.
4. Do you think concealed carry should be limited in some way to exclude any of these groups?
- Limited: I believe that certain faculty that elect to undergo the same training first responders complete should be the only staff members allowed to conceal carry on campus. I would be concerned with what constitutes a professor, as in some instances graduate students are teaching the course instead of professional professors.
- Not limited: The limit is already in place. Anyone who has the license has already been background checked and deemed worthy by the state to hold that license.
