Right now, there’s about 9 guns for every 10 Americans. With the recent mass shootings across the country, the Oregon University System is moving to preemptively transform campus security officers into full-blown “sworn police”—and that means they’ll be armed with handguns.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. Having guns on a college campus doesn’t seem safe to me, no matter who has them. Last October, a kid at the University of Southern Alabama was shot dead on campus by a public safety officer. (The student was undoubtedly unarmed, considering that his crime was running completely naked around the campus police station.) When deadly weapons are involved, accidents on the part of safety officers can cost lives.
On the other hand, we need to remember that PSU is an urban campus, right in the heart of a city. 87.2% of the suspects that CPSO apprehends are prior arrestees, and 41% of those have a history of violent offending. If one of these thugs brings a gun on campus, I would want my university’s security to be equally armed and ready.
What do you think about our security officers carrying firearms?