Louisiana bill shoots holes in no guns on campus rule

It’s time to hik'em high, adjust that old leather gun belt and head out to the old West.

Well…maybe a college campus if the Louisiana State Legislature has their way.

Our neighbors to the southwest were able to get a highly debated gun bill out of their House Criminal Justice Committee on Thursday, May 1.

What’s even more remarkable is that it passed with an 11-3 count.

The controversial bill is aimed at authorizing concealed handgun license holders to carry their weapons on the campuses of higher learning through out the state without fear of reprisal. The bill also shoot down the college or university’s right to regulate or prohibit conceal weapons on its campus.

Who might be responsible for such an act?

Well it’s good old state representative Ernest Wooton.

Wooton, who introduced House Bill 199, represents the Louisiana parishes of Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Charles.

The real worry with Wooton’s bill is that it just does not include the faculty, staff and students of a particular institution it extends a welcome to all visitors to the campus to bring their weapons along for the ride.

Wooton quoted in The Daily Reveille of Louisiana State University as saying, “This is not about students. It’s about concealed handgun holders on college campuses.”

Well Representative Wooton, it really is about the students.

It’s about their well-being.

It’s about their safety.

It’s about being able to go to school and earn an education without having to worry about being shot.

College campuses used to be a safe haven for students to go and congregate without having to worry too much about their safety.

Not any more thanks to Rep. Wooton.

Maybe Rep. Wooton has forgotten about the events that happened at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech or even in his own state at Louisiana Tech.

No, he has not because that was the reasoning behind the bill – if more students, faculty, staff and even visitors were armed to the teeth then they could have stopped someone that has only one thing in their mind and that’s to take as many people with them as they can.

How about this argument?

An Associated Press poll conducted during March 2008 stated that college students are so stressed out that that they could not eat or sleep and even worry about spring break.

The poll went onto conclude that one-in-four students are under stress ‘often’ and one-in-five feel stress ‘all the time.’

Sounds like a great group to hand guns over to and say, “Here, protect yourself if you feel threatened.”

The darker side of the poll states that one-in-six students that were asked to contribute to the poll said their friends had confided in them about they were thinking about committing suicide.

Guns plus stressed out college kids just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.

However, Wooton counters with people have a negative stereotype about guns and their handlers.

"Most of this discomfort is caused when you don't know anything about handguns or weapons," Wooton said. "This permit law requires that you be totally familiar with your weapon, have the ability to use your weapon and qualify with the weapon."

So everyone, if you are over the age of 21, run out and get your concealed handgun permit. Just make sure that you have had a police background check, gun training, and a mental check from any doctor.

And just remember when someone says to you “Good Morning” after a long stressful night, don’t say “Good Bye” to them with that glock you have concealed in your jacket