Should college students, faculty and others be allowed carry concealed guns on campus? A bill doing just that may be introduced later this week to the Texas legislature.

We found strong opposition and just as strong support of the bill on the M.S.U. campus. A typical day on a college campus: Quiet, happy, and supposedly safe … where students carry books and laptops – not guns.

“If I knew that people were allowed to have guns on campus, I would honestly feel less safe being here,” said Alyssa Edson (M.S.U. freshman). “Cause right now, I feel like this school is watching out for us and the campus police are there for any emergencies.”

“I think if you step on campus, you shouldn’t have a gun,” said sophomore Ryan Crayven. “I just think that’s safety.”

M.S.U.’s president, Dr. Jesse Rogers, is a gunowner and a hunter. But he says he doesn’t anymore guns on campus than necessary.

“The only weapons I want to see on this campus are those that are carried by our trained police,” Dr. Rogers said.

But supporters of the proposed legislation say now, criminals can walk onto a campus and open fire — knowing it’s unlikely that anyone will fire back for some time.

“Well, if no other law-abiding citizens are armed and you have somebody that’s psycho, per say, come onto a campus, they’re going to feel empowered,” said Joshua McKee (freshman). “And they will be empowered.”

But Dr. Rogers says such acts are hard to predict — and harder to stop. “There would be a minor chance that someone having a weapon could stop a random act of violence,” Dr. Rogers said. “I just can’t believe that the two offset each other.”

He says the average civilian isn’t trained or prepared to make life-or-death decisions in dangerous situations. But the debate won’t go away anytime soon. “If more people are armed on this campus than that one psycho, that person’s going to think twice about coming here and trying to mess with anything.”

Representative David Farabee says as he waits for the bill to be filed, he’s listening to the concerns of concealed handgun license holders; Wichita Falls law enforcement; and M.S.U. officials. He says if there’s a disagreement about any filed legislation, he thinks everyone can reach a consensus.