Editorial: Pellet gun incident raises questions over potential legislation

The recent incident on campus involving a student brandishing a pellet gun once again brings up the issues with the concealed-carry on campus bill being debated in the Texas legislature.

This event was, fortunately, somewhat of a big misunderstanding. The ‘gunman' turned out to be a regular student upset that his phone was missing, and the weapon was just one level above a toy. But, someone in that cafeteria saw this pellet gun and suspected it was real. We've all seen the toy guns of today. Many can be easily mistaken for the real thing, which even now can present a danger.

But, what kind of situation could arise if a student took out a pellet gun when someone else with an actual handgun was nearby? If the student who was actually armed saw this pellet gun and mistook it for the real thing, what is there to prevent the brandisher of a toy gun from being wrongfully shot down?

This bill is being pushed forward to champion vigilante justice that could end in two tragedies: a student being wrongfully shot and another being arrested for discharging their weapon under false pretenses and killing an innocent person.

Police officers are trained to handle gunmen in a way to prevent this sort of mix-up. They identify themselves first and only shoot when it is the last possible option. While students with concealed-carry licenses may go through training, for some the chance to become a "hero" may end up clouding their thought and resulting in a tragic misunderstanding.

So, for every argument in support of the concealed-carry legislation, there exists an equally strong reason to oppose it. Tragedy can be avoided with vigilante justice, but it can also be started by a person that just wants to save the day. We like to think the latter is much more possible should this bill pass.