Cornell needs concealed carry

With the recent tragedy in Florida, there has quite rightly been an outpouring of support for the students of Stoneman Douglas High School. What has failed to happen, however is a truly honest conversation about what we need to stop such a thing from occurring here. Cornell needs to wake up to the potential, no matter how slight, of a gunman on campus.

The shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School has demonstrated how we cannot rely upon our law enforcement to protect students during active shooter situations. Deputy Scot Peterson (who was armed) was on the scene, yet he never even entered the building for reasons which are currently unknown. While it is right to give thanks to law enforcement professionals for the tremendous sacrifice and hard work they perform, we cannot expect them to perform the impossible. Armed with only sidearms, no police officer has a realistic chance against killers armed with high caliber weapons.

On our 745 acre campus, it is impossible for a police officer to respond fast enough to apprehend or eliminate threats; this was evidenced recently when a unknown suspect exposed his genitalia to female students and was unable to be found. Cornell’s campus is also unfenced, most of its buildings freely enterable, and it borders a city. From a security standpoint, Cornell is a nightmare.

Our current guidelines, found on the Cornell University Campus Police website state in the case of an active shooter situation, we should simply call the police, hide and barricade ourselves under furniture, and wait for help to arrive. For a gunman, we would become fish in a barrel, cowering in fear as we face the end of the barrel.

With a well-designed and regulated concealed carry policy, this does not need to happen. The uncertainty of the possibility of retaliation created a strong disincentive for potential gunmen (as well as other criminal elements).

Having a responsibly armed student and faculty population will create a powerful “Reserve force” should the unthinkable happen. The example of the University of Texas tower shooting demonstrated how civilians are able to provide effective assistance to law enforcement professionals during active shooter situations.

There are many obstacles to allowing concealed carry on college campuses be should not be content with our safety being the pawn of the anti-gun mafia which runs the halls of power in Albany. It is undoubtable that any proposal to allow concealed carry on campus will be controversial, but the statistics speak for themselves.

Cornell needs a well regulated militia, of responsible faculty and students as a deterrent against crime.

Now.