Nathan Hayes trudged through the rain from class to class Monday with an empty gun holster hanging at his right side.

His T-shirt showed a handgun surrounded by silk-screened bullet holes, above which was written, “Signs can’t stop acts of violence.” Below the emblem it reads, “armed citizens can.”

Hayes is the campus leader of the Western chapter of a national group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. Their members are involved in a silent protest this week, wearing empty holsters and shirts like Hayes’.

“We want to try to spark debate or just bring attention to the issue,” Hayes said.

The issue he spoke of is the ban by college campuses of concealed firearms worn by students and faculty who are licensed to do so.

So-called Right to Carry advocacy groups have pushed for years for what they perceive as the right of citizens to protect themselves with concealed firearms. Since the Virginia Tech shootings, college students across the nation have increasingly joined that platform.

“When Virginia Tech happened, it was showing me again what could happen,” said Hayes. “I went real quick to a Web site and found a place where they were teaching a class that weekend. So, I drove up to Louisville that Sunday and took the class to get my license.”

Hayes said that one of the main worries of the SCCC is that potential shooters will be more likely to commit violent acts, such as the Virginia Tech shootings, in gun-free areas.

Shooters are less likely to fear retaliation in such areas, he said.

Hayes said allowing guns on campus wouldn’t increase the number of people who carry firearms. It would allow the people who currently carry guns to other places to also bring them on campus.

Gene Tice, vice president of student affairs and campus services, disagrees.

“We feel the police force can provide for the safety of students and faculty,” Tice said. “I personally don’t feel that bringing guns on campus is going to help the situation.”

Tice said the problem with allowing students to carry concealed weapons to protect themselves from shootings is that, although they have been trained to use firearms, they have not been trained to respond to highly emotional crises as police have.

The SCCC Web site responds to that argument by stating, “The Virginia Tech shootings proved that the police can not stop a gunman. Campus police can not be dispatched in time to stop a madman.”

The Web site also states that Utah has allowed licensed citizens to carry concealed handguns on campus since fall 2006, and it has yet to result in an act of violence.

Kentucky law doesn’t forbid concealed carry on college campus, but it doesn’t restrict the schools from making their own rules to that effect, Hayes said.

The Western student handbook mentions carrying firearms in two sections as an act of misconduct punishable by suspension and expulsion.

“There’s no support in the university to move towards allowing students to carry concealed weapons on campus,” Tice said.

Hayes said he was contacted by a statewide Right to Carry advocacy group called Kentucky Coalition to Carry Concealed, or KC3, before this week’s protest.

“We’re going to meet after the protest, maybe in November, and get the ball rolling as far as getting bills passed,” Hayes said.

With the support of KC3, he said he hopes to have legislation passed that would prevent colleges from restricting concealed carry.

Reach Holly Brown at news@chherald.com.