Students with Weapons?

In the editorial, Guns on campus is a dangerous idea, the author writes about how the Texas Legislature may possibly pass a law allowing guns in bars and schools. The author shares his opinions of how carrying concealed weapons on college campuses would endanger professors and students alike.

I am a bit bias because I support the carrying of concealed weapons, I don't necessarily agree that carrying in bars is a good idea, but overall agree with the right every American has to bear arms. However, putting my bias aside, I feel this article wasn't very well thought out or researched. Also, the main point of the article is Guns on campus and somehow the author deviates to alcohol, "innocent student or professor has been shot by an angry/drunk/stressed student allowed to carry a gun on campus", which assumes the student was drunk and carrying a gun on campus. The author doesn't reference any statistics and writes of groups opposed to the bill but doesn't identify them, "Lawmakers should also consider that public and private colleges in Texas, and their own police departments".

The main argument is that allowing students to carry a concealed gun on campus would endanger lives more than it would protect because the students may act in rage. It seems to me that if the student was that enraged it wouldn't matter if he had taken all the trouble to get a concealed hand gun license in the first place. A "angry/drunk/stressed" student that wanted to shoot his classmates or professor would do so whether he had a license or not. A drunk person is probably more likely to kill an innocent person by driving drunk then by shooting them with their concealed hand gun (which was licensed). Of the 328 murders convictions in Texas in 2006, 1 was by concealed hand gun license holders and of 61,539 total convictions in Texas, 140 belonged to Texas CHL holders. However in the same year there were 1,544 alcohol related traffic fatalities.

In the article, FIREARMS: Concealed carry opposition is irrational, by Scott Lewis, you can see a compelling difference in the argument. Mr. Lewis provides facts, statistics, actual states and schools as evidence to his argument. The article focuses on the issue and doesn't mix topics by moving in the direction of alcoholism.

I always try to look at both sides of any story without using my personal emotions, however I feel that if a person is going to post an editorial and defend very controversial points of view, they should really do some research and provide a better argument.