Gun control is one of the most controversial and polarizing societal issues facing the American public. Baylor University may soon become a miniature forum for that very debate to take place.

Baylor’s Student Senate recently voted on a bill that would allow individuals with concealed carry licenses to bring concealed handguns on campus.

The Senate believes that having more legal handguns on campus will decrease the likelihood of a gun crime being committed at the university — or at least cut down on the dangers posed to students, faculty and guests if a gun crime is committed.

The bill must now be approved by the student body president. Even if the bill is met with approval at that stage, the final go ahead must be given by the school’s Board of Regents. The university is opposed to the concealed carry bill, according to the Waco Tribune.

The idea that more guns being carried by private citizens can stop gun crimes is faulty logic. There are already safety measures taken on every campus to respond to active shooter situations, including campus police departments, though they are not the only precaution. We should trust those measures and organizations to do their jobs protecting campuses and leave the matter the hands of professionals.

In most situations, the presence of more guns, even when aimed at someone who is a threat, typically only causes further confusion and panic.

For example, say police are responding to an on-campus gun threat. They arrive at the scene and, instead of seeing only one person with a gun and being able to immediately identify the threat, they see two armed individuals. They can’t determine the threat from the civilian.

The risk of harm to innocent private citizens is unnecessarily increased. The bill came about as the result of a student petition that gained 600 signatures — at a school of nearly 15,000 — with nearly 200 of them being university faculty and staff. Given the ratio of signatures gained to total students and staff, it is not even clear whether or not the proposal has majority approval from the population.

As the law stands now in the state of Iowa, carrying a firearm or any other “dangerous weapons” on the school grounds of the three public universities is a violation of the law and the person who committed the crime is subject to criminal punishment. Not even visitors to the university are permitted to carry weapons on campus.

The point is that a bill such as the one being proposed at Baylor is not an immediate or even likely possibility at Iowa State. However, as shown by evidence from all across the nation and various social debates, once an idea takes hold in one place, it can quickly spread to another, for better or worse.

For that reason, it is important that students, student government and university staff preempt these types of discussions by establishing a university consensus on gun control. That way, if similar debates arise on our campus, there will already be a solid ground for arguments to be made.

The idea of students and faculty being allowed to carry handguns on campus is more than disconcerting. The presence of legal guns will never cut down the presence or use of illegal firearms.

There is no doubt that the vast majority of licensed gun owners who also possess a concealed carry permit exercise their right responsibly and perhaps even to the benefit of those around them, but if even one person makes use of his or her weapon to cause harm to innocent civilians, the result would be disastrous. An increased gun total may only increase the risk of such an event taking place.