It may be legal to carry a concealed weapon on college campuses soon, if Ohio Rep. John Adams has his way.

The state legislature will soon examine a bill that Adams is sponsoring which would make it legal for a person with a concealed weapon to carry in “public or private institutions of higher education, places of worship, day care centers and homes and government buildings other than schools, courthouses, law enforcement offices and correctional facilities.”

Despite the Stater’s attempts to reach out to Adams, he has declined to comment on the bill, which does raise some questions. It seems a little odd that he is not willing talk about the bill that he is sponsoring, even though our college readership would be directly affected if the bill were to pass.

Allowing students to carry guns on campus is not the answer to school safety issues. There is something wrong if we need to carry a concealed weapon in order to feel secure on a relatively safe campus like Kent State.

Such legislation, if enacted, would only serve to create a paranoid atmosphere of fear in the classroom, which would be unfair to the students who chose not carry.

Supporters of this bill can point to tragic school shootings like Virginia Tech, where a gunman killed 33 people in spring 2007, but they cannot claim that the use of concealed carry would have changed the results that day. Speculation does the victims no justice.

While it is good that campus safety is an issue that is discussed, we cannot live in fear of what could happen. We must continue to live normal lives, despite past tragedies that have affected other college campuses.

Allowing students to carry concealed weapons on campus will only foster an atmosphere of fear, which is something we don’t need on college campuses here in Ohio.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.