An editorial in yesterday’s Austin American-Statesman about the “guns on campus” debate.

We are not supporters of the state’s 1995 law allowing qualified adults to get licenses to carry concealed handguns. But, as is often the case with hot-button issues, the extremes predicted by both sides during that debate have not materialized.

We have not, as opponents opined, reverted to some kind of Wild West existence with shootouts at high noon and other times of the day. Somehow, we have remained a fairly civilized society.

And we have not, as proponents predicted, seen a raft of incidents in which pistol-packing Texans stepped to the fore to protect themselves and others through their deft use of concealed firepower.

First, I’d say you haven’t been looking that deep as there certainly are reported incidents of both. But you are more likely to hear stories of shootings than of non-shootings? Why? Because crimes are reported, but non-crimes are not. I know of a person that pulled his car over to deal with a phone call. A man came out of the woods, heading towards the car with the wrong look in his eye. Driver noticed and bailed out of the car meeting the man with his drawn gun. The man thought better and left. No crime reported, no story to hear about. This sort of thing happens more often than you think. So it’s difficult to quantify such things because of what we are able to and not able to collect data on.

Nevertheless, we do remain a fairly civilized society. But “fairly” isn’t 100%. Bad things can and do happen, and responsible people who care about themselves and their loved ones take steps to be prepared to minimize the impact of bad things happening.

Despite what some advocates say, Patterson reminds us that “this is really not about the kid carrying a gun to class so he can defend himself against a mass Virginia Tech murder,” he said, referring to the 2007 incident in which 32 people were killed by a gunman at that Blacksburg, Va., state university.

“It’s about the nursing student that goes to class at weird hours at UTMB in Galveston and has to walk back to a parking lot in darkness, or the lady with a protective order against a former lover or spouse,” Patterson said.

We’d like to think that even people in those situations could find ways to feel safe without packing a pistol. Perhaps we are naive.

It’s easy to be tough from behind a keyboard, oh editorial writer.

How about you tell that tiny woman I recently encountered in class… tell her what she should do to not just feel safe, but do something proactive about her safety.

Tell my female friend that’s a teacher at a Texas college and thus has to walk alone to her car, to the classroom. She can’t have a 24/7 bodyguard. She can’t have escorts. And if you are so willing to tell a woman she’s not allowed to take care of herself, are you willing to take a huge step back in women’s rights?

I’d think the AAS would be all for women’s rights… rights to choose… it’s her body, she can do what she wants with it. So, why are you so willing, so steadfast, in denying women their rights?

Yes, I think perhaps you are naive.