Empty gun holsters symbolize students being made defenseless by gun-free campus policies, according to a group which is now nearly 27,000 strong nationwide.

The school shootings of the last year have had a student reaction that some say is shocking and illogical.

In reaction to the Virginia Tech shooting, which was one year ago yesterday, students nationwide came together in a movement to allow licensed gun carriers to wear their guns on campus.

The shooting at Northern Illinois University more than doubled the cause.

Kristin Guttormsen, a regional director for the right-to-carry group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, said the group was up to about 11,000 members in February.

Since the NIU shootings, the group has risen to 26,732.

And 3,353 of those members have already confirmed on the group’s Facebook site that they will be wearing empty holsters on their respective campuses during the protest which will last all of next week.

“The protest last year was really small nationwide,” said Guttormsen, a Washington University senior. “With 26,000 members, we’re looking at a much larger turnout this year.”

Nathan Hayes, director for the Western chapter, said he thinks he was the only one who participated in the protest last semester.

He said that’s partly because the group was so new and hadn’t had enough attention yet.

Hayes said he also believes the group was small because people were afraid of retribution.

“I know a lot of faculty and staff don’t want to get involved,” he said. “People are afraid they’ll get fired … People have to be afraid for their jobs just to stand up for what they believe in.”

Karl Laves, assistant director in the counseling center, said he participated in an online debate with Hayes on the issue after last year’s protest.

He said there are many views and approaches that have to be considered in this issue, including First and Second Amendment Rights.

“The Ku Klux Klan has a right to express their point of view,” Laves said. “I don’t want to be around when they do it.”

Laves said he respects people who observe the law and go through training to get the concealed carry license.

He said he also understands the argument that in gun-free zones, people who have guns are the ones who intend to break the law and possibly shoot innocent people.

If everyone is allowed to carry guns to deal with possible shooters, it opens the door for a “wild west” reality, Laves said.

“There have been times in the past when people were allowed to have guns on them and gun fights would open up,” Laves said. “Two people would square off on the streets and shoot each other.”

Skylar Jordan, chief of staff of the Student Government Association, said that as a student, he is against concealed carry on campus.

“I think the majority of students don’t want concealed weapons on campus,” he said.

Jordan said he’s seen statistics that contradict those that the SCCC use which prove that higher rates of gun ownership lead to higher rates of violence and shooting deaths.

He said he believes in protecting the Second Amendment but doesn’t believe that the tragedy at Virginia Tech is a valid argument for arming 18 to 22-year-olds.

“I think that’s using fear to sell your agenda,” Jordan said.

Most states, including Kentucky, allow concealed carry, Guttormsen said.

The issue the SCCC is focused on is stopping state organizations, specifically schools, from impeding on a right citizens have already been granted by the state.

Hayes runs the Facebook page for the Western chapter of the SCCC.

It has 28 members.

There were only two Kentucky chapters during the protest last semester, but there are now seven or eight, Guttormsen said.

Although the issue hasn’t been brought to the SGA by the students yet, it is third or fourth on a list of priority issues to be discussed by the senate next year, said Johnathon Boles, SGA president-elect.

Reach Holly Brown at news@chherald.com.