To the editor:

The good government of the state of Kansas tried a “real live experiment” on its citizens. By reducing the income tax of the wealthier segment of the population, Gov. Brownback hoped for a Laffer effect to take place after some (hypothetical) “adrenaline shot” to the economy.

So far, the experiment has failed, and the cost of the failure, up to now, consists of reduced budgets to the arts, health and education and threats of furloughs. Deficits were partially  covered by tapping capital from the Kansas Department of Transportation. Goes without saying that the costs of the failure are not being paid by those that conceived the “experiment” or benefitted from it.

Now a second social experiment is being tried on us. Carrying concealed weapons (without even the need to pass tests) is now legal in the state, and, soon, places like our universities will cease to be exempt of complying with this law.

Now, failure of the “real live experiment” on taxation has produced misery, discomfort and unemployment, but let us not fool ourselves: A failure of the “weapons experiment” could be paid in human lives. I believe that most students, academics and staff would prefer to have our universities (and churches, and hospitals, and schools) free of the presence of concealed weapons, rather than the opposite, and if this is the case, we must express our opinion and find a way to keep a safe environment without the presence of firearms at the university.