State Rep. Charlie Collins, sure as shootin', wants more guns on university and college campuses.
One of the Fayetteville area members of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Collins has pushed income tax reform, a cut in the capital gains tax and other significant state government issues, but his dogged pursuit of arming professors is the effort for which he'll long be remembered.
What’s the point?
The idea that introducing more guns int0 the atmosphere of university and college campus will result in more safety should be rejected.
Collins is the sponsor in this year's session of the Arkansas General Assembly of House Bill 1077. The bill would require the state's 33 public colleges and universities to allow professors and other employees to carry concealed handguns on campus if they meet certain criteria, such as holding a permit to carry a concealed handgun.
Despite strong opposition among college educators and administrators, the House approved Collins' bill 66-25 the other day. It now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
"This is a bill that is designed to help protect our loved ones on college campuses," Collins said. "Last year there were 43 incidents at schools in America, 39 of those included either injury or death. The breakdown for those on college campuses was just under one per month. That's a trend that's not getting any better. If anything, it's getting worse."
Collins has been at this for some time, this effort to express through firepower his love for family and friends. Collins' drive to have more armed people on campuses is a study in incrementalism. He met strong resistance to his bill in 2013 and ended up amending it to allow campuses to opt out with an annual vote of their boards of trustees. The change reduced resistance to the bill because it suddenly embraced the concept of local control, which politicians love unless it works against one of their cherished issues. Then state control is in order. Nonetheless, his compromise gave state legislators a chance to look supportive of gun rights -- rarely a losing proposition in Arkansas politics -- while not really taking on the responsibility for opening campuses up to a proliferation of arms.
Perhaps Collins had hoped there would be enough support at a few universities or colleges that his bill would become a pilot project, a test to show more guns wouldn't bring calamity. And, of course, if no mass shootings happened on an Arkansas campus that allowed armed professors and staff, Collins could then take credit for fending off an attack that most likely was never going to happen anyway. It's hard to prove a negative, but it's a tried and true political tactic to take credit for it.
None of those rascally, gun-hating liberals at university and college campuses, however, took the bait. Every campus in Arkansas opted out of Collins' campus carry law, keeping the handgun situation at the educational institutions exactly where it was before Collins set out on his crusade.
Now, in 2015, it's time for his guns-for-safety plan to graduate to the next level, like moving from a .22-caliber plinker to a .357 Magnum. Safety, he argues, demands more armed people. And if he can get it done on college campuses, of all places, is there really anyplace else in Arkansas where a persistent effort won't deliver more safety through handguns? Places exempted from Arkansas' concealed carry law include churches, bars, police stations and sheriff's offices, athletic events, polling places, courthouses, any meeting of a governmental body and airports. And, of course, any meeting of the Arkansas General Assembly and its committees. But if more guns make sense on our college campuses, if they offer a higher level of protection and deterrence against armed assailants, which of these places aren't deserving of such higher security?
The Arkansas General Assembly, if it wants to take such a stand, needs to immediately eliminate any ban on handguns at the state Capitol. It will make the environment much safer, if we follow Collins' logic correctly. Let's not forget: Government offices are often targeted by those wild-eyed, crazed killers, too.
We're not buying what Collins is trying to sell, certainly not with regard to our university and college campuses. We reject the idea that the introduction of more guns will improve the general safety of the students, faculty and staff. Even if we accept the notion that an armed professor is better than an unarmed one in the midst of an assault, the fact is most ever college student, staff member and professor will make it through their entire careers without facing such a danger. Is it worth multiplying the number of guns on campus based on the slim odds of an attack?
Perhaps state senators will bring some reason to this debate and say no to more guns on campus. It's not the solution.
Commentary on 03/05/2015