Let students and professors carry guns to class

Last week, I walked across Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee, watching students laugh, read and relax in the sun. Today, that same lawn is a crime scene – the latest gun-free zone targeted by a coward intent on terrorizing innocent lives. The son of a sheriff’s deputy killed two students and injured six others in a campus rampage.

Last year, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed me to the Florida Board of Education, where I serve the 3 million students who attend our K-12 schools and state colleges.

It’s time to get real: gun-free zones do not protect our students – they turn them into defenseless, easy targets. At FSU, the shooter used his mother’s legally-owned service weapon. No law could have stopped him. But, had even one trained professor, staff member or responsible student been armed, this tragedy might have ended differently.

Think back to the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting. Chris Hixon – a Navy veteran and beloved athletic director – witnessed the attack by Nikolas Cruz unfolding on security cameras. Without hesitation, he raced toward danger in his golf cart, immediately assisting wounded students and saving several lives. Sadly, misguided policies forced him to confront the shooter unarmed and he was shot dead. Imagine if Hixon or even one teacher had carried a firearm that day. Imagine how differently things could have ended.

Umpqua Community College in Oregon in 2015 saw nine innocent lives lost as helpless victims waited for police to arrive. Virginia Tech in 2007 endured one of America’s deadliest school shootings with 32 victims killed while campus police struggled to respond.

These tragedies painfully underscore the same truth: gun-free zones fail every time they are tested. Something has to change.

Critics argue that allowing concealed carry on campuses would create a “wild west” environment. That’s nonsense. Concealed carry permit holders are among the safest and most law-abiding citizens in the nation. Denying their constitutional right to self-defense isn’t safety – it’s full-blown negligence.

When sick individuals like the shooter at FSU attempt to terrorize campuses, they deserve swift and decisive confrontation by anyone capable of stopping them. In other words, they deserve to be shot dead on the spot.

President Trump has consistently advocated for empowering trained, law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and others. He understands clearly what Democrats such as AOC and Maxwell Frost refuse to acknowledge: “gun-free zone” signs do nothing but embolden sick people intent on terrorizing innocent Americans.

We must stop pretending that “gun-free” equates to “safe.” Gun-free means defenseless. Gun-free means vulnerable. Gun-free means tragedy.

We owe our students, educators and staff more than empty promises and pointless legislation. We owe them their God-given right to self-defense. Every student, teacher and staff member deserves to return home safely, every single day.