I’m not exactly unused to people in academia taking positions that run contrary to mine. In fact, much of the time, if a position I have is widely shared with academia, it’s time I step back and make sure I’m in the right on that position. They’re a good bellwether for what is and isn’t a terrible idea, usually by taking the contrary position from them.
That said, there are some positions maintained by people like university presidents that have to be at least considered and addressed, if for no other reason than the fact that they have a certain degree of influence.
Which brings us to New Hampshire’s campus carry bill.
It seems a man who is basically the president of two colleges in the state has some concerns about it.
Keene State College Interim President Donald Birx, who also is president of Plymouth State University and lives at PSU, says he observes student behavior first hand and doesn’t think it would mix well with guns.
House Bill 1793, which the N.H. House passed and sent to the Senate, would end policies now in force at the state’s public colleges and universities that prohibit weapons on campus.
Supporters say HB 1793 would protect college students’ rights to self defense, particularly given incidents of on-campus violence that have occurred elsewhere.
Yet I’d argue that the on-campus violence that’s occurred elsewhere is precisely why campus carry is needed. After all, we have yet to see someone lawfully carrying a gun on a college or university campus be responsible for any of that violence.
But let’s understand something about student behavior for a moment.
See, I was a stupid college kid at one time, too. I did lots of stupid stuff, and I still do more than my fair share of stupid things. But when I’m carrying a firearm, I don’t act the same way as I might otherwise. Someone popping off at me would ordinarily get me popping something back, mostly because I’m a mouthy SOB. When I’m carrying, I don’t. Why? Because an insult isn’t worth killing someone over. Someone hitting on my wife isn’t worth killing someone over, especially if they were unaware she was married and thought she was just some single lady at a bar.
People who take up the responsibility of carrying a firearm generally understand that they can’t cut the fool while carrying. I might get hammered at a party when I’m unarmed, but if I’ve got the handgun on me, it’s Coke Zero, water, or something else without alcohol. That’s most gun owners.
He said a legislator reminded him that college students “are all young adults.”
“I said, ‘Yes, but you always got to remember that young part,’ “ he said. “Because fights break out. All kinds of things go on on campus, and if there’s guns added to that mix, it really scares me.
Fights break out, sure, but again, people who opt to go armed aren’t the ones most likely to get into a fight.
As for the whole “you always got to remember that young part,” I have an issue with that.
Birx is the president of Plymouth State University. It’s far from the most expensive, but it’s in the top 10. Attending that school as a resident of New Hampshire costs $15,068 per year, as of 2025. Out-of-state tuition, plus fees, is $26,218 for the 2025-2026 school year.
That means Birx, who wants to emphasize that these are “young” adults, rather than adults on the younger end of the spectrum, sees nothing wrong with students going into $100,000 or more of student debt where they can major in such high-paying fields as theater arts, adventure education, or “interdisciplinary studies.”
So they’re responsible enough to take on debt without any concerns for how they’ll actually pay that back, but not to exercise their right to keep and bear arms?
Birx says he has no problem with guns, only that college campuses aren’t the place for them.
Which, of course, means that he has a problem with guns, gun rights, the Second Amendment, or any other way you care to frame it.
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