The tragedy at Northern Illinois University is putting a spotlight on legislation introduced by a Shelby County State Senator. Sen. Hank Erwin (R-Montevallo) wants to allow faculty and students at colleges and universities in Alabama to carry legally purchased guns. And an AP report quotes him as saying the killing of the five students in Illinois will increase support for his measure. Will it? The student accused of the shootings killed himself, so we can't interrogate him. But he broke no laws in obtaining his guns and those who knew him say there were no "red flags" about him to create concern beforehand (there are reports he was "off his medication", but as of right now no word on what those meds were or why he was taking them in the first place). He was the opposite of the mass-killing profile offered by experts...even "revered" by his professors. And that's why I have to question the Senator's legislation. If a talented student with no indicators of violent behavior can suddenly show up in a classroom and open fire, how will making it OK for even more students like him to walk on campus with guns made it safer? I know the answer you will offer...that if some of the students in the classroom had guns, they could have killed him. But have we really come to that? Arming students and faculty across the state to prepare for a possible event that we hope will never come? Guns are not allowed on the floor of the Alabaam Senate. Given the anger that produced the well-publicized punch between Senators Barron and Bishop, would Senators be safer if they all had guns? I'll be curious to hear reaction from the University of Montevallo campus, right in the heart of Senator Erwin's district.
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