When May I Shoot a Student?

[RRKore]

This snarky opinion piece written by a Boise State professor is from the New York Times and concerns a bill pending in the Idaho Legislature that would allow college students on campus to carry guns:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/opinion/when-may-i-shoot-a-student.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

When May I Shoot a Student?

By GREG HAMPIKIAN
FEB. 27, 2014

BOISE, Idaho — TO the chief counsel of the Idaho State Legislature:

In light of the bill permitting guns on our state’s college and university campuses, which is likely to be approved by the state House of Representatives in the coming days, I have a matter of practical concern that I hope you can help with: When may I shoot a student?

I am a biology professor, not a lawyer, and I had never considered bringing a gun to work until now. But since many of my students are likely to be armed, I thought it would be a good idea to even the playing field.

I have had encounters with disgruntled students over the years, some of whom seemed quite upset, but I always assumed that when they reached into their backpacks they were going for a pencil. Since I carry a pen to lecture, I did not feel outgunned; and because there are no working sharpeners in the lecture hall, the most they could get off is a single point. But now that we’ll all be packing heat, I would like legal instruction in the rules of classroom engagement.

At present, the harshest penalty available here at Boise State is expulsion, used only for the most heinous crimes, like cheating on Scantron exams. But now that lethal force is an option, I need to know which infractions may be treated as de facto capital crimes.

I assume that if a student shoots first, I am allowed to empty my clip; but given the velocity of firearms, and my aging reflexes, I’d like to be proactive. For example, if I am working out a long equation on the board and several students try to correct me using their laser sights, am I allowed to fire a warning shot?

If two armed students are arguing over who should be served next at the coffee bar and I sense escalating hostility, should I aim for the legs and remind them of the campus Shared-Values Statement (which reads, in part, “Boise State strives to provide a culture of civility and success where all feel safe and free from discrimination, harassment, threats or intimidation”)?

While our city police chief has expressed grave concerns about allowing guns on campus, I would point out that he already has one. I’m glad that you were not intimidated by him, and did not allow him to speak at the public hearing on the bill (though I really enjoyed the 40 minutes you gave to the National Rifle Association spokesman).

Knee-jerk reactions from law enforcement officials and university presidents are best set aside. Ignore, for example, the lame argument that some drunken frat boys will fire their weapons in violation of best practices. This view is based on stereotypical depictions of drunken frat boys, a group whose dignity no one seems willing to defend.

The problem, of course, is not that drunken frat boys will be armed; it is that they are drunken frat boys. Arming them is clearly not the issue. They would cause damage with or without guns. I would point out that urinating against a building or firing a few rounds into a sorority house are both violations of the same honor code.

In terms of the campus murder rate — zero at present — I think that we can all agree that guns don’t kill people, people with guns do. Which is why encouraging guns on campus makes so much sense. Bad guys go where there are no guns, so by adding guns to campus more bad guys will spend their year abroad in London. Britain has incredibly restrictive laws — their cops don’t even have guns! — and gun deaths there are a tiny fraction of what they are in America. It’s a perfect place for bad guys.

More at link...

[headhuntersix]

He should shoot when he feels his life is threatened within the guidance published by the Boise State University officials. An ROE or rules of engagement should be published, posted on walls, school vehicles and in classrooms. They should be posted in English, Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish...Ebonics if necessary. The ROE should have threat levels clearly understood by all sides. They should discourage the use of the warning shot as a means to calm a situation as it may cause confusion and further expression of 2nd Amendment rightsl He/she should not aim to wound as this can endanger the life of the shooter and anybody else present. He/she should be proficient enough to fire two rounds center mass and then one round in the head from a distance of 25 meters.................. .........or professor X should kill himself for being such a friggen candyass.

[StreetSoldier4U]

I understand this article is meant in jest but it's really a silly example.

[headhuntersix]

I like Boise....really good gyms...good pizza...pretty.

[RRKore]

He should shoot when he feels his life is threatened within the guidance published by the Boise State University officials. An ROE or rules of engagement should be published, posted on walls, school vehicles and in classrooms. They should be posted in English, Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish...Ebonics if necessary. The ROE should have threat levels clearly understood by all sides. They should discourage the use of the warning shot as a means to calm a situation as it may cause confusion and further expression of 2nd Amendment rightsl He/she should not aim to wound as this can endanger the life of the shooter and anybody else present. He/she should be proficient enough to fire two rounds center mass and then one round in the head from a distance of 25 meters.................. .........or professor X should kill himself for being such a friggen candyass.

I like that your answer is amusingly in the same style as the professor's opinion piece but calling him a candyass because he doesn't like the idea of his students carrying weapons doesn't seem fair.  Especially when it seems that the local police chief feels the pretty much the same way.

To be fair, it's not clear whether the students carrying weapons would need special permits or not and that would seem to be an important factor.

[JOHN MATRIX]

This whole arguement from the Left that a gun automatically turns people into killers has been thoroughly destroyed by decades of evidence showing that CC holders commit virtually no gun-related crime despite their being hundreds of thousands of them throughout the nation.

[headhuntersix]

RRR.....I would say half the cops, especially Police Chiefs are not pro gun. I suspect the teacher is not worried about being shot..he's worried because guns are scary. If some redneck had been in the classroom during the VA Tech shooting...that kid would have gotten smoked.

[RRKore]

RRR.....I would say half the cops, especially Police Chiefs are not pro gun. I suspect the teacher is not worried about being shot..he's worried because guns are scary. If some redneck had been in the classroom during the VA Tech shooting...that kid would have gotten smoked.

I wouldn't say that the professor is worried about personally being shot either, but he does seem to be worried that others will needlessly be shot because he thinks his experience shows that many college students at Boise State aren't responsible enough to carry around a gun. 

Re: your assertion that the VA Tech shooter would have been stopped much earlier had gun-toting students been present, that may well be so before deciding if students should be allowed to have guns on campus I think it'd be great to have a good idea about whether more lives would be saved by allowing students to carry guns on campuses or by not allowing students to carry guns on campuses.