Michigan college students deserve the right of armed self-defense

As college students across Michigan return to campus for a new semester it’s time to end the policies that leave then defenseless in the face of predators and spree shooters.

The Michigan Concealed Pistol law specifically bans concealed carry in classrooms and dormitories at any college or university in the state. This prohibition denies students, faculty and staff alike the ability to effectively defend themselves. Additionally, many Michigan colleges and universities maintain a near total ban on firearms on any school property.

Back in 2009 Michigan State Sen. Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) introduced Senate Bill 747 that would have given each college or university the ability to decide for itself whether to allow concealed carry on campus. Unfortunately, the bill died in committee and no substantial progress has been made on the issue since that time.

Whenever discussions about campus carry come up the same old arguments are brought out. The gun prohibitionists believe that college students are “too immature” and are not to be trusted with the tools to defend themselves.

This ignores the fact that the minimum age to obtain a Michigan CPL is 21 years old and applicants must have undergone both a background check and required training. This also ignores the fact that the gun ban also denies the presumably more mature faculty, staff, and visitors their right to carry as well.

Another argument is that campuses are supposed to be “safe places” focused on the free exchange of ideas where “totems of violence” such defensive handguns are just not needed. This flies in the face of reality: As the Virginia Tech massacre demonstrated, any “gun free zone” is really a “unarmed victim zone” where a spree shooter can run up the body count before armed police can intervene. I’ve yet to read of any mass shooter stopped by the “magic sign” that indicates a gun-free zone.

The group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus lists Michigan as one of 24 states with a complete carry ban on campus. The laws in other states vary from allowing each school to decide for itself to one state, Utah, which specifically prohibits colleges and universities from banning concealed carry.

The question is, should Michigan college students have the right to defend themselves against an attacker, or should they instead be forced to follow “lockdown” policies that require them hide under their seats in darkened classrooms in the hopes that a mass shooter will pass them by? To anyone who believes in the value of students’ lives over a “feel good” policy, the answer should be obvious. It’s time to end the ban on campus carry in Michigan.

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