After sister's death at Va. Tech, student began gun control fight

When Randa Samaha arrived at the University of Virginia, she figured she’d spend the next several years focused on earning her nursing degree and then possibly head home to work at a Northern Virginia hospital.

Samaha’s plans, however, were abruptly changed on April 16, 2007, when her younger sister, Reema, was killed in the Virginia Tech shootings that left 32 student and faculty victims dead.

Samaha, who is now 23 and will graduate from UVa today, was visiting her family in Springfield when they learned that Reema was among the victims at Tech. The next day, Samaha began appearing in TV interviews to talk about the tragedy and the importance of gun control.

Two years later, Samaha has become a prominent and vocal opponent of guns on college campuses. She co-founded with a few friends a group called Students for Gun Free Schools, which opposes laws that require universities to allow students to carry concealed firearms on campus.

Natural reaction

“This wasn’t something that I ever saw myself doing,” Samaha said. “But, honestly, immediately after [the Virginia Tech tragedy] happened, it wasn’t even a decision. I had to start taking steps to see how I could make things better.”

Students for Gun Free Schools has spread to 34 schools across the country, including five chapters at Virginia universities. The group’s Facebook page boasts nearly 13,000 members from around the world.

“This wasn’t something that I really recognized as a problem, not until I had my eyes opened because of the tragedy,” Samaha said.

Students for Gun Free Schools argues that guns on campus “detract from a healthy learning environment,” create additional risks for students and do not deter violence.

Pro-carry counterparts

A group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus disagrees, arguing that permit holders have a legal right to carry their concealed firearms in most public places other than universities.

The group also asserts that letting permit holders bring a gun onto campus would allow them to defend themselves in a situation like the Virginia Tech shootings, possibly saving lives.

“Though campus shooters are frequently suicidal, they are not simply suicidal — if they were, they would simply shoot themselves at home and leave everyone else alone,” said John Allen, a Marine Corps veteran and a campus leader for SCCC at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he is studying environmental science.

“Campus shooters go on armed rampages because they misguidedly seek to make a point or attain infamy. It’s hard to attain infamy if a concealed handgun license holder ends your shooting spree before it begins. Even if the knowledge that concealed handgun license holders might be present isn’t enough to deter all would-be gunmen, an attempted shooting spree thwarted by a licensee might be enough to deter a few.”

Allen — who served twice in Iraq — also disputed the idea that guns on campus leads to more incidents. He pointed to 11 colleges — nine public schools in Utah, the University of Colorado and Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave — that allow concealed carry permit holders to bring their firearms onto campus, but have not experienced any incidents.

“… The facts clearly establish that concealed carry on campus is a reasonable means of self-defense and should be allowed by state-issued license holders,” Allen wrote in an e-mail. “The anti-gun side relies heavily on emotional appeal, and rarely backs up their argument with data.”

Samaha said her group only pushes for the rights of universities to decide for themselves if guns should be allowed on campus. The University of Virginia does not allow students, faculty or staff to carry concealed weapons on Grounds.

“It’s for everyone’s protection,” she said. “I don’t understand what the argument is.”

Samaha also supports tougher background checks of gun buyers and improved mental health screening.

“I’m not against guns,” she said. “I’ve been to a shooting range before. I’m just against guns in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Samaha’s gun control activism helped her cope with the grief of losing her sister. She also found an outlet in belly dancing with the Belly Dance Club at UVa. And she traveled to France over the summer of 2007, a trip that she had planned with her sister.

“I still went for the both of us,” she said. “That was very healing.”

Samaha’s father, Joe Samaha, said his older daughter is a “wonderful, hardworking, loving young lady who is doing what her sister would have done.”

Samaha’s work against guns on campus, her father said, has served as a positive outlet in the wake of a senseless tragedy.

‘Make sense of the tragedy’

“She is trying to make sense of the tragedy at Virginia Tech,” he said. “This is one way she can try to make sure that others don’t have to go through what she and our family went through.”

Samaha will soon start work as a pediatric intensive care nurse at Duke University’s medical center. Her experience of losing her sister, she said, may help her relate to families who are going through tragedies of their own.

“I think I’ll be able to connect with them,” she said. “I have a good grasp of what people might be feeling.”