There has been an uproar lately about concealed carry on campus. Many politicians are pushing for increased gun control while many in the south or those affiliated with the NRA are actually pushing to have less gun laws. In this day in time is it really guns that can save us? In one of my classes we had a debated about the concealed carry law that Texas was shortly going to pass. It was actually yesterday, August 1, that they have now begun to allow students over the age of 21 to carry their concealed licenses on their college campus. Although they would have to have a handgun licenses to do so. I for one am on neither side of the spectrum. I don’t exactly agree or disagree that concealed carry on campus would make it less safe or more safe for that matter. There have been great points on both sides as to why it would work or not work. For instance, as David Skorton and Glenn Altschuler stated in, Do We Really Need More Guns on Campus, “We Don’t need to put more firearms in the hands of college students, a cohort that includes emotionally volatile young men …show more content…
In the essay written by the Students For Concealed Carry, Why Our Campuses Are Not Safe without Concealed Handguns, they stated, “The SFGS essay points to two attacks on facility where the shooters knew that law enforcement officers would be present, as evidence that suicidal gunmen are not deterred by armed resistance. Those particular shooters may not have been deterred, but they also didn’t cause nearly as great a loss of life as is often caused by shooters in “gun- free zones”. (17) Most shootings that take place at schools are by suicidal gunmen who plan to do as much harm as possible to others. If the gunmen knew there were likely people who were armed they may not target that area and if they do, they will more than likely not kill as many as they
According to Kenzie Kesselring, allowing guns on college campuses is a horrible idea. Not only is dangerous to college students’ well-being, but it also threatens the institution of collegiate learning altogether (Stroud, K.). Moreover, open gun carry can make students fearful for their safety; they will no longer be comfortable debating or being themselves. Some students might even be distracted knowing that at any moment someone in their classroom could be legally carrying a gun. Would you feel safe sitting next to somebody who holds a gun?
By reading both of these two article about guns control, I can only say the they both the authors make sense in a way, for example we take David Burnett’s, director of public relations for ‘Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) article "Students Should Have the Right to Carry Guns on College Campuses.” In his article “Students Should Have the Right to Carry guns on College Campuses”, on the issue of banning guns on college campuses. Burnett’s strongly agrees and he defends his view in support of a student’s right to having concealed firearms with permit. Burnett uses statistics about ‘gun-free’ colleges and how being gun free doesn’t necessarily mean crime free. He uses the crime statistics from two colleges in Colorado to support this.
At the University of Northern Arizona in October of 2015 Steven Jones came to school and shot four students and killed one. He was charged with first degree murder. Now imagine you were a student at that school wouldn't you want a student or teacher to be able to stop the shooter before it got this far? College Students in the United States should be aloud to conceal carry on campus. Concealed weapons on campus would help protect colleges in the U.S. by having armed students and staff on campus.
(Smith, T.N. 2012) The students and staff while on campus who are protecting themselves or another should not be subject to arrest or be punished for a crime. Students need to properly educate the public on the benefits of carrying guns on the campus. By states not allowing guns on campus it is making a target for the shootings. Research says there are more rapes, assaults, and robberies than killings.
Shooters are weak people who when they are planning their attack target areas that are going to guarantee them the least amount of resistance. A college campus a school and even major work areas are “gun free zones”. This means that no one on the campus is allowed to have a gun there even with the proper documents allowing for a concealed carry or even an open carry once you are over the age of 21. In the case of the Virginia Tech shooting the previous year the school defeated the bill allowing lawful concealed carry on campus. With the passing of this bill it allowed for no one to be able to resist an armed attack with nothing but staplers and laptops.
POW!! Imagine you just saved your family from a slum trying to take what you worked for Tough right? Well that can all change now. A concealed carry pistol can define, your life and death. Here's why,concealed carry should be for american citizens and why it should be legal for anyone without any restriction and permits, Also why concealed carry helps with crime and protects thousands of americans.
The supporters for concealed carry on college campuses argue that students and teachers should be able to open carry on campus because it will reduce the number of school shootings. The great state of “Texas has made carrying a concealed weapon on college campuses legal as of August 2016” (New York Times).
However, for some people, the sight of an open gun will not make them feel safe and uneasy. By allowing open carry, you are ensuring trust amongst your peers and those around you to protect you with your life; however, relying on a stranger to protect your life is a gamble and one that several people are not will to make. Finally, open carry on school campuses will lead to more violence. As reported in various school shootings, such the shooting in Albemarle High School in North Carolina on September 2014, some shootings were caused by arguments between two students. The incident, and several others public shooting incidents, would have been avoided if the shooter did not have a weapon on his person and if the country had more strict gun control laws.
The Second Amendment states that one has the right to bear arms. This right can be taken away from one when they do some sort of crime that goes against this and gets their right taken away from them. Around 3 million americans carry a gun with they all the time with a concealed weapons permit. That number is 20% out of the 15 million americans that have a concealed weapons permit. We should not get rid of the right to carry a concealed weapon though there are exceptions depending on the person and their history.
For this reason, security professionals believe that arming students shoot back would actually make matters worse in the extremely rare instances where mass shootings occur on campus.” This can create a bigger problem than the one before. Such accidental shootings are not accountable for which leaves families of innocent victims upset and frustrated because justice is never served. According to The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus “Despite the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois, college campuses are far safer than the communities that surround them. Ninety three percent of the violence against college students occurs off campus, where guns are widely available.
It states that our nation was in one of the worst spasms of violence with guns alone at colleges. This article also states that over the past few years, almost fifteen states have made it a whole lot easier for teachers, students and even administrators to carry concealed weapons on campus. Starting in August of 2016, Texas Lawmakers are going to make carrying a concealed weapon on campus legal. The main point I get from this article is that everyone thinks that the law enforcement should be the only ones to be able to carry concealed weapons on or around college
To begin with, we are living in one of the most violent time in the last decade. There has been more mass shooting in schools and colleges than ever before. Government can not seem to find a solution for this mass shooting. This brings us to the main topic of whether or not we should allow guns in college campus. There might be some benefit of carrying guns in college such as making the shooter afraid and prevent a mass shooting.
A few years ago, a student named Amanda Carpenter attended the University of Nevada at Reno. She was walking to her car from class when she was attacked and raped. This student felt as if she had been allowed to carry a concealed gun, she probably would not have gotten raped that night (Wiseman, 2012). There are many misconceptions about carrying a concealed gun, everyone is not criminals, and everyone will not commit a crime. A thorough background check, training, and the passing of a test should qualify people the right to carry a concealed gun everywhere.
In order to nurture a healthy learning environment at America’s schools and universities, it is critical that students as well as faculty feel safe on campus. Recent pandemonium of violent crimes on campus has many pro-gun activists suggesting that both the Students and Teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on
It would make schools a safer place, it makes it so people can intervene before the police get there, and show that American’s staff and students are responsible enough to carry on college campuses. Think about college campus carry what it could do for the future. References Common Arguments Against Campus Carry. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://concealedcampus.org/common-arguments/#5 Flock, E. (2013, June 25).