“That scares the hell out of me,” Shaw said.

His fears come from a bill currently being debated in the Texas Legislature. The bill would allow those able to legally obtain a concealed weapon permit to carry their weapons on college campuses, which is currently unlawful.

Joe Driver, a republican from Garland introduced the bill. The 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech, where a deranged student gunned down 32 students, ignited a cry for more safety on college campuses, a key argument for Driver’s bill.

“There might have been a lot less people dead” if there had been a legally armed student at Virginia Tech to stop the gunman, Driver said to the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Many believe that would merely add to the problem.

“The prospect of another Virginia Tech situation is frightening to me,” Shaw said. “But more people with guns makes me even more nervous. If something like that were to happen and everyone with a gun tried to be a hero it would add insult to injury.”

Professor George Henson agrees, saying the problem is easy to see.

“It doesn’t take an educated person to see gun violence is a problem,” Henson said. “We are armed to our eyeballs as a society, it’s a simple cause and effect situation.”

He said that treating gun violence with more guns violates a pillar of university education.

“Using guns to prevent gun violence is a paradox,” he said. “A university’s job is to teach students to challenge a paradox. How can we then turn around and promote one.”

He said the notion of guns on campus to increase safety is debatable, but as a professor it wouldn’t put him at ease.

“I will admit to conflicts with students as much as the next guy, but I would certainly feel threatened if I knew a student in my class had a gun,” Henson said.

The university opposes the bill saying it has “a long tradition as a weapons free campus,” and has “serious concerns about allowing concealed weapons on a university campus.” SMU was concerned because it “frequently hosts events for academic and recreational purposes with large numbers of children in attendance.”

The biggest concern for students is the fear of guns being in untrained students’ hands.

Senior Calvin Smellage is an avid hunter and gun owner and said being around other students with guns would bother him.

“I don’t know how well [gun carrying students] have been trained in its use, and I don’t know if they have taken all the necessary safety precautions, and most of all I don’t know what their intentions are,” Smellage said.

As someone who has gone through gun training, Smellage said that in the event of a crisis, more guns could further complicate the situation.

“Students carrying firearms in a situation like Virginia Tech would do nothing more than create chaos,” Smellage said. “While I agree that a student with a firearm could potentially save lives by eliminating a hostile gunman, that student could also get many other people killed in a potential shootout.”

Some students feel there is potential for harm in even the calmest situations.

“I don’t know the exact statistics but a lot of gun deaths are accidents,” Shaw said. “Putting more guns on campus greatly increases the chances of an accident.”

Some students think this bill is merely freeing up citizens rights.

“I support people’s right to carry a gun on campus, right now the law is just stripping law abiding citizens from their right to carry guns,” junior Ryan Moore said. “It doesn’t stop deranged students from carrying them.”

Moore said that knowing some of his fellow classmates might be carrying guns doesn’t affect him. He said if you walk across the street from campus to Chick-fil-A you have to deal with the same reality.

Texas issued 73,090 licenses in fiscal 2008. The state requires applicants to pass a training course, pass a criminal background check and be at least 21 years old.

Katie Kasprzak, a recent Texas State University graduate and spokeswoman for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus told the Associated Press, “These are individuals who are already licensed and allowed to carry weapons. What marks the imaginary line of college campuses?”

She added that if gunfire were to erupt on campus, “Would you rather sit and just take shot for shot or would you rather have a chance to fight back?” asked Kasprzak, who has a concealed weapons license.

Texas is currently one of seven states considering the legislation. As it stands, out of the 150 House members, 70 have signed on in support of Drivers’ bill. In the Senate, 12 of 31 senators signed in support.

“We hope Texas will serve as a leader and have a domino effect,” Kasprzak said to the AP.

Professor Rick Halperin said he was most concerned with the educational classroom environment for students.

“Classrooms are not a place people should live in fear of deranged classmates breaking in and shooting or even their fellow classmates holding weapons on them,” Halperin said. “Classrooms are not target ranges.”