In the wake of the mass-murder at Virginia Tech, many questions are left unresolved. Beyond the most topical, like should Administration have warned the campus in a more aggressive manner? Or, should the erratic student’s motives or potential been discovered and resolved prior to this festival of horrors? However, the most pressing, unresolved question for me is should students, professors, and administrators be armed?
Without a doubt, universities and other campuses represent soft-targets. The assailant knows if he goes go the target, armed to the teeth, the chances of meeting anyone with the potential to resist their deranged onslaught, will be minimal. Thus, the assailant will be able to travel, unrestricted, between target areas, doing considerable damage.
Sure, it is easy to say this now, but the basic provision to bear arms, provided for in the Constitution, has some considerable weight in this matter. Consider for a moment the mind of the insane, intent on doing damage. If that person knows someone, somewhere, in a potentially soft target, may be armed, it could potentially provide deterrence to all but the most deranged. Legislation that allows citizens to carry concealed has been proven, in study after study, to deter crime, violent crime, and generally keeps order in society. The first step in being safe in today’s climate is awareness of your environment. The second step is being prepared.
Who would you rather have armed, the criminal or the citizen? I firmly believe a weapon, placed in the hands of a trained citizen, can provide the necessary deterrence to preclude individual victimization, or mass murder.