Since I don’t know how to secure an airport or anywhere else, I’ll leave the task of designing a secure university environment to the professionals.

I also agree with you that students would find some of the security arrangements inconvenient — it is never convenient to stop, open bags, submit to inspections, etc. But I would argue that it is even more inconvenient to experience a massacre.

The problem with most of the post-Virginia Tech planning is that virtually everything is reactive. Universities are basically anticipating that more massacres are forthcoming, so the administrators offer rapid notification systems so that additional students don’t walk into the midst of a murder spree. Cops will theoretically respond to gunfire ASAP. Those reactions are good, but is that really the best that can be done?

It would be best if universities could offer an environment in which a massacre doesn’t even happen in the first place. And that proactive approach has not characterized the brainstorming on how to make campuses safe.

Also, I would imagine that the students would not appreciate the inconvenience such a setup would create. I believe that securing campuses with airport-style security is unrealistic and would create a false sense of security while making the school uninviting at the same time.

People sometimes object to the idea of airport-style security at universities on the grounds that sprawling campuses are too big to secure. But airports are often pretty darn big, and also feature people coming and going in large numbers.

I teach at a university, and we’re given instructions for emergency situations that are well-intentioned but sometimes verging on the ridiculous. How are we supposed to lock doors to rooms when a lot of doors have no locks?

It would seem more logical to secure the campus with airport-style security instead of just hoping the problem won’t happen again. I would favor this approach to permitting everyone to carry guns on campus.

This blog was based on “what ifs” scenarios. Of course, accidents will happen. And there will always be a few bad (or psychotic) apples. According to that rationale, I should never again go out driving — because who knows, I might react adversely to that damn driver who keeps tailgating me? After all, I’m operating, what? A machine that weighs a ton and moves upwards of 70, 80 mph? Oh, my goodness. Now that I think about it, I better not let my daughter go to the park anymore, she has to cross the street not once, but TWICE — and that’s far too much of a risk for her!

Truth be told, there are guns everywhere in this country. The vast majority of them are owned by law-abiding citizens who take their responsibility quite seriously. They also purchased their guns with quite good reason — I sleep well at night, knowing that my beloved family members are safe.

There are too many Gun Free Zones and it’s the target. We need to eliminate the easy target for the perps. The guy who stabbed me friend made a statement in the court, “If I knew he was carrying, we would NEVER try to steal his car.”

Statistics have proven that the more firearm permit issued, the less crime there are. Michigan and Florida Attorney General found that allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes. I understand Nick’s point- he only want to be able to protect himself just like me. If you are worried about “Wild West” incident like you mentioned about ROTC student carrying a non-functional rifle. That is where our training comes in before obtaining a concealed carrying permit to make the right decision. I had more training with my firearm and classroom lecture about gun safety and the laws than my state patrol has. The state where I am a resident of, the state patrol training at the academy required firearm training of 200 rounds at the range and 20 hours in classroom lecture. The private citizen firearm training required at least 30 hours of classroom lecture and 800 rounds at the range and an annual qualification certification in order to keep my state firearm permit.

The 2nd Amendment gave us the rights to bear arms in order to protect ourselves and our freedom to live. I choose to exercise my rights as an American citizen to arm myself to protect my rights to live and my family’s. The choice is yours! I only hope you won’t be a victim of a violent crime like I was. We all are responsible for each action we take. As a private citizen carrying, I take my responsible seriously. A mistake with my decision can land me in prison for a long time and I do not want it to happen. Almost all private citizens with concealed carrying permit have the same conscience as mine’s.

In this cruel and chaotic world in which we live in the majority of law abiding citizens go virtually unprotected and rely solely on someone else to protect them…. The average police response time is 6 minutes……

Protect yourself!