Viewpoint by Alyssa Zapata
azapata84@student.alamo.edu
As I grew up, Western movies were my favorite.
I idolized the man with the gun who protected the weak and fought for justice. Men like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Alan Ladd.
As the years went by, reality began to hit me about the dangers of guns. Not all people with a gun were like the good guys in the Westerns I had known.
In junior high, the school sent a selected number of students to attend a leadership program. One of the seminars included actual footage from the shooting at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colo., that killed 13 people.
I saw students shooting and killing other students and I couldn’t comprehend why someone would choose to hurt their classmates.
I grew up with my classmates, and we had a close bond.
It had never occurred to me that someone could hurt my friends.
Since I lived in the country, some of my family members and people who lived around our ranch enjoyed hunting.
Around hunting season, it was normal to hear gunshots.
It wasn’t until a few years ago in junior high when a little girl from my town lost her life to a gun accident, when I began to see the harm guns could cause in real life.
The innocent thought of guns being used solely for protection by the right people began to fade.
In June of this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 910.
This will allow students with concealed handgun licenses to carry guns on campus starting in August 2017 for the Alamo Colleges.
I don’t know how to feel about other students having a gun at a place that is for education.
My mom always stressed to me growing up that school was for education only.
Why would people feel the need to bring a gun to school?
I understand there is bad in this world, but what good will a gun do?
If another student brings a gun for protection, should I bring one to protect myself against them?
There are many questions that linger in my head about students carrying a concealed weapon on campus.
If I did carry then I feel I would be protected when I get here early in the morning or when I leave late in the evening.
I also think about the shootings that have occurred at colleges or universities.
I wonder if there were a number of students with a gun. Could they have stopped the one person that decided to go on a shooting rampage?
However, I think about those who are going to carry guns on campus and I question their intentions.
I don’t know which side I stand on with this issue. I don’t know if I am for carrying on campus or against it because there is so much to consider, such as accidents that could occur or the chances of someone shooting out of anger.
I don’t fear a gun — I fear a person’s intentions.