On July 1, 2017, those who are legally able to carry guns in the states of Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and our very own Kansas will also be legally able to carry their firearms on college campuses. This means that, two years from now, you shouldn’t be surprised when a part of a classmates’ first day outfit happens to involve their pink semi-automatic.

In the state of Kansas, anyone over the age of 21 is allowed to openly carry a firearm without a permit. Under a recent bill, students and staff will soon be allowed to carry their firearms inside of campus facilities. This bill raises hairs on both ends of the spectrum.

On one end, the bill was purposed to provide students and staff with a way to protect themselves and others from harm in the event of an emergency. On the other end, guns are often the cause of such emergencies, and having more of them around has so far not shown any significant results.

One of the most significant points to note is the fact that this law still requires students to be legally able to carry a gun according to their state regulations. In Kansas the only requirements are that you have obtained the gun through legal channels, and that you are over the age of 21. For those under the age of 21, owning a gun is still illegal.

Because you have to be 21 or older, the law mostly pertains to college juniors, seniors, delayed students or non-traditional students. According to Washburn University’s admission data for the 2013 freshman class, approximately 14 percent of students would be able to carry guns upon being admitted to Washburn under the new legislature. As well as the approximately 1,000 faculty and staff members. These people will be the only ones who are legally allowed to carry guns.

Regardless of anyone’s opinion at this point, the law is going through. Guns are simply going to be a thing from now on. We can sit here all day and listen to the President talk about gun control and the sheer horror of school shootings, but it won’t change anything.

At the university of Texas, students are protesting with #cocksnotglocks and are proposing that students carry dildos around to class in place of guns to symbolize what sort of environment they will shortly be living in. It’s an outrageous argument that seems almost entirely unrelated to the whole controversy; however, in the greater loop of things it still makes a point: under the new law, taking a dildo to class is a higher cause for campus correctional reprimand than guns will be.

Guns are a symbol of power in American culture, and obtaining them is fairly easy for just about anyone. In fact, the man who carried out the Oregon shooting on Oct. 1 owned 13 firearms, all of which he obtained legally from federally licensed firearms dealers. Up until the point he opened fire on his classmates, the Oregon shooter would be legally able to carry any and all of his guns on campus out in the open. And we at the Washburn Review staff find that terrifying.