I would like to refute the editorial published on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 titled “Shooting raises alarm, disarm campuses.” It seems that the author of that article is calling for the Texas government to outlaw concealed-carry on University campuses. Isn’t it bad enough that our University already does this? Why make it illegal as well? Then a person could be jailed for defending his/herself instead of just being suspended or expelled. When faced with a gunman in the area, the same building, or even the same room, a person has three options. First, they can try to run away from the gunman and get to safety. Second, they can hide and try to avoid the gunman. Third, they can fight to defend themselves. If the first two options have been exhausted or are impossible given the situation, then the third is the only viable option. So why tie a person’s hand behind their back? That’s what you’re doing when you prevent the general public from being armed like the attacker, forcing them to rely on improvised weapons and knives. These put them in much closer proximity to the gunman and make it more likely to be shot, taken hostage, or used as a shield. A law like this only prevents the average civilian from protecting themselves. The person doing the shooting doesn’t care one way or another if what he’s doing is illegal. Notice that when I was giving the options up there, I never mentioned vigilantes. I did this for a reason, which is that I don’t think somebody should pick up their weapon and go hunt down a shooter. If that happened, the police would likely shoot both of you when they came across two people shooting guns. I would like to assume that most Aggies, or should I say most Texans, would have the common sense not to be a vigilante. At the very least not to do it unless you had the police with you and they allowed it. Disarming a population is simply putting a child in a ring with a champion boxer, while tying one hand behind the child’s back. It does not serve to protect that population so much as it makes it easier for a criminal to conduct their attack.