DAYTON — Today is the one-year anniversary of the worst school shooting in U.S. history, when 32 students, faculty and the lone gunman died at Virginia Tech.

While colleges nationwide have increased efforts to prevent and better respond to shootings, a group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is fighting for the right to be armed at school.

The group, comprised of college students, faculty, staff and parents, formed in Texas the day after the Virginia Tech shootings and quickly took root in Ohio. Three of its nine national leaders are from Miami University in Oxford, the University of Cincinnati and the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati.

The group says it has nearly 26,000 members with 300 chapters in 43 states, doubling in size since the fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University in February.

Campus police can't respond to a shooting fast enough to protect a student, but a licensed gun owner could defend himself, said Stephen Feltoon, a 2007 Miami graduate and the group's Midwest regional director.

"This is about self-defense, not about playing hero ... or replacing police officers," Feltoon said Tuesday, April 15.

But police say more guns on campus is a bad idea.

"I believe that we are more likely to have more problems with having guns on campus than in having an active shooter," said Miami University Police Chief John McCandless. "We should be focusing on prevention."

Students for Concealed Carry plans a protest next week, during which students will wear empty holsters to classes.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7404 or sgottschlich@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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