That is to say, I believe students and faculty members have a right to protect themselves no matter where they go to school, and because we can't say what university will be targeted next, it is important that we extend this right to those attending classes or working at universities in this congressional district. Although Texas would not be the first state to allow concealed carry weapons on college campuses, as it follows Utah in the matter, I have also heard some express that the guns would not help in an emergency shooting situation and that more guns is never a good thing (Smalley). While violence is usually not prescribed as the answer to another violent situation, this circumstance is rather different. Because school officials have noted that those who are driven to open fire on a college campus will find a way to do it one way or another, I feel very strongly that, in this case, guns don't sever as a deterrent or an excellerator of the crime, but only as a method of defense (Paulson and Sherer).

For this reason, I feel that a gun would be beneficial in a situation involving a school shooter on a college campus. Because shooters are likely to find a way to accomplish the shooting regardless of mitigating factors and because the degree of violence that the shooter could cause would be rather monumental, citizens with guns are much more efficient deterrents than negotiators and alarm systems. In the heat of the moment, I feel that a trained citizen with a firearm is likely to spare more lives than negotiators that will probably prove useless and alarms that will only cause more confusion.

My fellow members of the twenty-second congressional district, I have brought you hear today to discuss the very serious matter of concealed carry permits on college campuses, and I hope I have done an adequate job explaining why I feel so strongly about my affirmative position on the matter. I believe not only that the facts support my decision, but that the opposition's...

The facts suggest that college campuses are not safe. Because of the open environment cherished by members of the learning community, they are very large, containing many buildings and are linked by wide green spaces. Unlike elementary, middle, and high schools, they usually do not share a form of emergency mass communication, like a PA system. These factors make the area an easy target for school shooters to cause as much damage as possible. Changing these factors, however, would take away from the open learning environment that most students and educators cherish. For this reason, myself and at least 12,000 others have agreed on a very specific kind of preventative measure -- allowing concealed carry weapons on campus. While I believe the facts support this decision, I also think that the opposition, which claims that guns will be unsafe and ineffective, is far from correct, as school shootings can happen on any college campus and the other methods of prevention and containment may be too difficult to implement quickly, costing more lives. It is for these reasons that I have chosen to vote affirmatively on the bill. While I understand some may still disagree, I hope I have explained my position so that you might at least know why I will say yes to concealed carry permits on campus.
Works Cited

Paulson, Amanda and Scherer, Ron. "How Safe are College Campuses." The Christian

Science Monitor. April 18, 2007. Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0418/p01s04-ussc.html

Smalley, Suzanne. "More Guns on Campus?" Newsweek. February 15, 2008. Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/112174

Timeline: Shootings at U.S. College Campuses." National Public Radio. April 16, 2007.

National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9603275.