Letter of the Week: No guns on campus

Forcing Missouri colleges and universities to allow guns on campus is an overly broad and irresponsible idea. Our kids deserve better.

Although it is certainly legal to carry a concealed weapon in Missouri if one has the proper permit, that does not mean it is in our students’ best interest to allow these weapons on the quad, in the dorms and in the classroom.

A college campus is a congregation of young people. Many are experiencing new situations and peer pressure and making big decisions on their own for the first time.

While we would have a lawfully obtained weapon now stored in a dorm closet, we may also have a roommate experiencing severe unreported depression, a curious suitemate who binge drinks and has never seen or held a gun, or a casual new acquaintance with a criminal background.

Does Missouri really want guns everywhere? Would guns on campus have made recent high-profile protests safer?

I think not and encourage Missourians to fight for more sensible ideas from our elected officials.

Jessica B. Pastorino of Parkville is a leader in Moms Demand Action, Kansas City, a nonprofit group interested in sensible solutions to gun violence. She owns a small business specializing in mergers and acquisitions. She is a 1999 graduate of California State University-Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. She and her husband, Vince, have two sons — 6-year-old Nico, and 4-year-old Mateo.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Letter of the Week: No guns on campus."