An attention-seeking college professor decided to make a statement last week by wearing combat gear to class on the first day of campus carry.
Charles K. Smith, an adjunct professor of geography at San Antonio College, strolled into class wearing a camouflage bulletproof vest and helmet last Tuesday — the first day students were finally able to reclaim their Second Amendment rights.
“I was just saying I don’t feel safe,” Smith told mySA.com. (Because if you’re truly afraid for your life, bringing a vest to a gun fight totally makes sense.)
The new Texas law allows individuals who are licensed to carry concealed handguns to pack heat on community college campuses. Texas universities saw a similar law go into effect on Aug. 1, 2016, though all but one of the private universities in the state appallingly opted out.
“It definitely makes me feel uneasy that there are more firearms on campus than there really should be,” Smith said. “[Dressing this way] was just a statement on how I felt.”
The professor acknowledged that some people were already carrying guns on campus illegally, but curiously argued that it’s more dangerous now that they’re allowed to under the law.
“I realize students were carrying guns on campus illegally, but now it’s legal to do so. It increases the chances of something happening,” Smith said. “Used to, when they got mad at me, they had to go home to get the gun and had time to cool off, now they will have it with them.”
“My assumption is that you will have more people carrying guns, that well lead to problems. It always has,” he said. “There is nothing on this planet worth a human life.”
Not surprisingly, Smith’s stunt gained quite the reaction on campus and social media.
“Some of them were OK and some of them weren’t, but it’s freedom of speech,” Smith said.
I agree it’s your First Amendment right to act like a fear-mongering man child. It’s also our First Amendment right to point and laugh at you. And if the ish ever hits the fan and you find yourself cowering behind a desk because you have nothing to defend yourself but your pencil and your ideas, I pray to God a licensed gun owner is there to protect you.
The Second Amendment, like all the others, is non-negotiable. We would never dream of regulating speech or due process by state, but we have somehow rolled over and allowed this rampant trampling of one of our most basic human rights to occur across the country. Texas and a handful of other states have seen the light. It’s time for others, including my home state of Florida, to follow suit.
There is no arguing for or against the Second Amendment — it’s right there in black and white and the blood of our Founders. There is no Constitution without it, and that’s exactly the kind of America people like Charles K. Smith envision. It’s time to say hell no.
Jessica Chasmar 