This essay reflects on the use of competing rhetorical frames of fear
strategically used by the academic community of The University of Texas
at Austin in the debate on Campus Carry policy. With the legalization
of concealed handguns on campus, fear emerged as a prominent trope in
public discussions, albeit used in very different ways by supporters or
opponents of the law. Against the more standard interpretation of
fear-based rhetoric as an exploitation of others’ insecurities, this
essay draws on mixed-methods research to examine expressions of fear by
activist opponents of Campus Carry and the way in which supporters of
the law sought to deconstruct it.