Column by David Burnett

It won’t happen to me.

Subconsciously, that’s what most of us think when we read about the Lexington woman who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted a few weeks ago. It’s probably what the woman herself was thinking. Ironically, even when it does happen to us, we remain in denial: “this isn’t happening.” That kind of denial may sometimes help you cope, but doesn’t help in situations where quick thinking is required. No one ever thinks it will happen to them, so they’re not prepared when it does. No one thought a student at Virginia Tech or Northern Illinois University would go on a shooting spree either, and their lack of preparation led to the kind of chaos that the killers exploited to their full advantage.

While we can’t afford to let ourselves be paralyzed with fear, it’s time we realize that not only can it happen to us, but that you, the reader, could be the subject of the next unthinkable headline. But if you’re prepared and equipped, you’re far more likely to survive a threatening situation.

Most people need something bad to happen before they say “never again” and begin taking extra precautions. When it came to defense, I decided not to wait for something to happen. A few weeks after I turned 21, I took a concealed deadly weapons class and applied for the permit to carry. Once I passed all of the requirements (criminal and mental health record checks included), the police gave me the permit. Since then, I’ve carried a handgun concealed on me as often as I can. According to The Concealed Handgun Manual, 2.71 percent of Kentuckians do the same. Various studies show that U.S. citizens use firearms to thwart crime as many as two million times a year.

So why is that relevant to you? For one thing, it means that if you’ve been to a public place (shopping mall, movie theater, Wal-Mart, even church), chances are you’ve passed someone who was carrying a concealed handgun. Notice, what you didn’t see didn’t hurt you (or freak you out) and could even have saved your life.

On campus it’s different. If I exercise my right to carry concealed for my own protection, I could and probably would be expelled. Since I tend to be a guy that follows the rules, I don’t carry at UK. I leave my security up to the few safety officers thinly spread across a vast campus. I’m certainly not opposed to the police. But as UK’s Captain Kevin Franklin admitted in a speech last spring, the police cannot promise to protect you because they can’t promise to be there.

Our new alert system is a fine idea, and I encourage everyone reading to sign up at the UK Alert Web site, (http://www.uky.edu/EM/UKAlert). But the fact remains, it is strictly volunteer and has shown severe weaknesses in recent use. Springtime deployments reached only 14 percent of students, and the lag time we saw in last week’s notifications raises further concern.

We have cameras on campus now, another safety device. That’s great news — if you’re network television. But for someone being robbed, mugged or sexually assaulted, or if UK falls prey to a mass shooting, it’s useless.

That is why Students for Concealed Carry on Campus asserts that it is time to allow concealed carry on campus by licensed citizens. UK currently urges us to fight back and use “personal safety devices” if encountering a threat — but threatens expulsion for citizens who choose to carry the most effective means of protection! These weapons would be concealed (like the weapons you didn’t see in the malls and theaters) and never displayed unless in response to a threat of death or serious bodily harm.

This is truly a matter of safety. We are not seeking more playtime with guns. The fact is that when you confront a thug who is bigger than you, a firearm is the most sensible, effective tool for defense. It’s an equalizer that removes the advantage between a petite woman and a 300-pound stalker in a way no whistle, pepper spray or cell phone ever could.

Ultimately, personal safety is dependent on the person. Because in the end, the only person available to protect you 24/7 is you.