Allowing college students and faculty to carry guns on campus makes everybody safer, right?
If you answered that the way the NRA does, then maybe consider what just happened at Idaho State University on Tuesday afternoon: A professor was wounded when the gun he had in his pocket accidentally went off. According to local news outlet KIDK, the professor (who had a concealed-carry permit but hasn’t been identified at this point) was in the middle of teaching class when he literally shot himself in the foot:
Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Public Safety received a call about an accidental discharge of a concealed weapon in the Physical Science building. A student said the gun went off in the middle of the class.
Police said the small-caliber handgun was in the professor’s pants pocket and was not displayed at any time. They said the professor was able to leave of his own accord. He was treated and released from the hospital.
In March, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter signed a bill into law allowing permit holders to bring their guns onto public college and university campuses, despite polls showing overwhelming opposition from students and education leaders in the state. As the Idaho Statesman noted at the time, “Aside from perhaps agriculture, the NRA is the most powerful interest group in the Idaho Republican Party.”
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