They surely will go off: Allowing guns on campus only foreshadows a tragedy

“If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.”
A master of the short story form and one of Russia’s great playwrights wrote that in a letter more than 100 years ago.
It’s a reference to a literary device many know as “Chekhov’s gun,” or more commonly referred to as foreshadowing.
HB 2519, better known as the “Campus Self Defense Act,” foreshadows a tragedy of its own at WVU or another state campus.
It appears the Legislature — in an unspoken agreement with the gun lobby — is intent on passing this bill.
Yet, it only narrowly passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, 12-11, last week.
Then a second reference to the House Finance panel was bypassed when delegates took the bill straight to the floor, where again it squeaked by, 51-47.
A motion to send the bill to the Finance Committee then passed with an $11 fiscal note, which apparently schools would be forced to cover.
HB 2519 would allow, with specified exceptions, people with concealed carry permits to bring weapons on college campuses.
WVU opposed it this year and last year., but it appeared last week in some quarters WVU was willing to accept the measure with numerous exemptions amended into the law.
In other quarters at WVU, judging by a protest Thursday at Woodburn Circle, this bill is unacceptable to many faculty.
A Judiciary Committee public hearing on the bill Feb. 11 also drew more than 30 opponents compared to just 11 supporters.
Our newspaper spoke out against this bill Feb. 13. As a rule, we’re reluctant to opine about an issue so soon again, but we’re making an exception here.
Other than a majority of House Republicans and three Democrats we cannot discern who wants this law.
Not one public college or university administration requested it. No student group requested it. No faculty group requested it.
And we seriously doubt a single town or city where a campus is located in West Virginia requested it.
So by default that leaves this bill’s sponsorship to others aside from actual campus communities. Sure, there are students and faculty who may support carrying handguns on campus, but it’s a marginal number.
Meanwhile, no one can carry handguns — even with a permit — in the state Capitol. Why not?
Guns are not even allowed on the Capitol’s grounds, unless they’re locked away in vehicles. Why is that?
Before legislators put guns in our classrooms, put them in your hallways and chambers.
Otherwise, don’t go aiming to allow them on our campuses because they will go off.