By: Nicholas Renard

For Kansas college students, new legislation could mean packing heat as well as a lunch.

Despite previous failed attempts in recent years, the Kansas House is expected to deliberate on multiple bills this week that could allow concealed carry permit holders to bring firearms to college campuses and other state and municipal buildings.

But after a Democratic legislator from Colorado argued against concealed weapons at a debate Friday, stating that a female college student’s right to protect herself from rape should not extend to carrying firearms, concealed carry laws are drawing staunch criticism online.

State Rep. Joe Salazar’s claims that 911 call boxes and rape whistles are ample measures, as well as criticism from his opponents, lead to the Twitter hashtag #LiberalTips2AvoidRape, which began trending Monday.

The hashtag’s originator, whose Twitter moniker is @SooperMexican and has over 21 thousand followers, wrote on his page that he created the hashtag to mock the situation as well as Salazar.

“I’m mocking the Senator who thinks a whistle is just as good a deterrent against violent crime as a gun,” he wrote.

@SooperMexican, who is hardly shy about his conservatism, initially launched the hashtag by tweeting, “Yell “racist” at your rapist…that’s like the worst thing ever.”

He continued to post similar, strongly-worded tweets.

“Pray to Obama extra hard, and promise to have 3 abortions in his name,” he wrote.

The trending hashtag went on to draw similar tweets, most of which were politically charged and right of center.

But other Twitter users denounced the hashtag, citing its offensiveness, a sentiment echoed by Mother Jones, which called #LiberalTips2AvoidRape the “most horrible hashtag of the week thus far.”

Regardless of this residual cyber-squabble, the University of Kansas is siding with Salazar.

Zach George, the government relations director for KU Student Senate, said the University strongly opposes a concealed carry policy.

“This legislation will not keep our campus safe, but may cause more danger and more tragedies,” he said.

George added that even the possibility of a fellow student attending class with a concealed weapon could create a distracting environment.

“If someone says there is a wasp in a huge auditorium, even if you can’t see it, all attention is diverted to that wasp,” he said.

Some policymakers say the recent shift toward a more conservative Kansas legislature may boost the bill’s potential and popularity. And along with a record high for Kansas concealed carry permits in January, and Kansas Students for Concealed Carry adding a new Kansas State University chapter, change may be on the horizon.

In January, the state received 3,167 concealed carry applications, nearly double the previous record, according to the Attorney General’s office, bringing Kansas permits to 53,317, as of Feb. 1.

In Kansas, concealed carry holders must be 21, have no felonies and undergo a background check, followed by eight hours of weapons training.

“That training consists of ‘this is how your gun operates, and don’t shoot yourself’,” said KU Police Chief Ralph Oliver. “The assumption that that individual would act in the manner of a trained police officer to stop a [shooting] situation is naïve at best.”

Oliver said trained police officers in shooting situations will only tend to hit 17 percent of the shots fired at a target.

“If you’re an innocent bystander or someone trying to get away from the scene, the chances are you’re going to be in peril,” he said.