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).
Mass shootings have been a major issue in this country. One common place these shootings take place is on school grounds. These events keep happening with really no solution to put an end to these tragedies. Recently, a bill had been proposed in Wisconsin that would lift the ban on guns in campus buildings in UW schools. This means more guns on campus. To me that doesn’t sound like a solution to all of the shootings. I believe that allowing guns in UW campus buildings is not a good idea.
I feel that the people ever allowed to bring guns onto school grounds are law enforcement. Many people, such as myself, would not feel safe being in a school environment being around people with guns on their hip. We come to school to learn and to hopefully feel safe, but having tons of people with guns on them would not make me feel safe whatsoever. Yes, if there ever was a school shooting on campus, it could help bring the victim level down if there is someone in the area of the shooter. School shootings are pretty rare even though they have been more frequent recently. I feel like the students on campus that had a concealed weapon on them could end up being a victim if there ever was a shooting. For example, if law enforcement saw a man trying to shoot the shooter with his concealed weapon and they shoot the concealed weapon guy not knowing he was not the actual shooter, then that brings up a whole different situation of not knowing who was the shooter and who was trying to help until it is too
Concealed weapons are a type of protection that many people have argued about for various reasons. Some people believe that carrying a concealed weapon should be a right that everyone should have, while others believe that it is unsafe for themselves or others. Concealed weapons are weapons, especially handguns, which are kept hidden on one's person, or under one's control (“USLegal, Inc”). When people discuss concealed weapons, they usually talk about handguns; however, any device or instrument that can cause harm or death to another individual is considered a weapon. This could include knives, tools, and items that could be turned into a weapon. Most states have their own laws when it comes to who or where someone can carry a concealed weapon and students who are on campuses must abide by those laws.
There has been a long standing debate in America regarding open carry. Some people believe that open carry will help protect others from harm. Recently, on June 1, 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the Campus Carry Law, allowing licensed holders to carry a handgun on college and university campuses, effective next year, August 1, 2016. Gun Control laws need to be controlled, that is indeed true, proven by the 335 public shootings in the country this year alone. Open carry will not be a solution to this growing problem, it may in fact help increase its numbers. Texas allowing open carry in college campuses will be an invitation to chaos as it will increase the rick of others, will not make people feel safe, and lead to more violence.
Enshrined in the United States Constitution, there is perhaps no debate that permeates the contemporary socio political landscape with as much fervor as the right to bear arms. In recent times, the rise of gun violence has brought the issue of gun control to the forefront of political discourse. Gun control has been hotly contested by political leaders, liberal and conservative adults, and even teenagers in high school. While there are many articles online regarding this topic that appear to be reliable prima facie, not all of them prove to be credible under closer scrutiny. Although everyone has their own opinion with respect to gun control, some news articles choose not to consider all the factual evidence that is readily available or see
to have weapons, regardless of location.” (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.
Over the past few weeks, arming teachers has been a controversial topic throughout the country. School shootings have taken the lives of many over the past few years, yet they are becoming more and more frequent. In today’s society children shouldn’t have to go to school worried if they are going to be safe that day. If teachers are armed it will add that extra bit of protection to the children. A big question is if arming teachers is even going to matter if an active shooter happens to be in that school. What a lot of people do not take into consideration is that the teachers must go through training and have to be liable to the responsibilities they are taking once they have a concealed carry weapon. Arming teachers could help lower the number of school shootings because the reaction times will be much faster, and it will add a bit of security to the children.
Dickerson, John. "Why Newtown Wasn’t Enough." The Slate. The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
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. To prevent future mass shootings, we must strengthen our gun laws to make it as hard as possible for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons.” If gun laws are strengthened, campus shootings might decrease and innocent lives will not be
On April 16, 2007, 32 people were murdered and another 23 were wounded, either by Seung-Hui Cho, the man doing the killing, or by jumping out of windows to escape him. That day Seung-Hui Cho used a Glock 19 and a Walther P22 to commit the second deadliest shootout in US history. While many people, like Josh Sugarmann and his Concealed Carry Killers report would have one believe that allowing people to conceal carry on campus would of made things worse, but I believe just the opposite. If someone in there had been concealed carrying. It could of had ended the massacre right there, or at least slowed it down enough to save some more lives. Concealed carry should be allowed on college campuses, like it is in many other places,
It’s very disheartening how easily it is to obtain a certification to own a gun. Here in the United States it is easier to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon than it is to obtain a driver’s license. 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
In a nation of pioneers and settlers, where we capitalize upon a bear wielding a firearm to represent “our right to bear arms” there has come to be quite a bit of bloodshed because of that right. Fear has been interwoven into the school system, a kind of fear that even the greatest school safety measures cannot prevent. Such instances being the Columbine, Newtown, and the more recent Parkland school shooting. It cannot be controlled who does the killing, but what can be isolated is the weapon those chose as their aid in the slaughtering. So many lives are lost in these devastations a step towards preventing more from being lost is increasing gun control. Without increased gun control anyone can play the role of God and chose to end the lives
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. Once the Virginia Tech killer was on campus and began firing he killed 32 people, wounded 15 in nine minutes and still missed 73 percent of his shots and had 200 rounds remaining. Suddenly he realized that armed officers were approaching he turned the gun on himself and took his own life. Now what would have happened if once the shooter walked on campus and was met with one to two students that were concealed carrying. It would have saved many lives and if the school had passed the bill allowing students and professors to conceal carry it could have deterred the attack all together. Gun free zones appeal to only two groups of people: the utopian minded anti gun crowd and the killers with guns (Burnett 1-2). Many people think that guns on a
95% of people think that america needs stricter gun control laws, yet the amount of shootings in the past years has risen exponentially. Gun violence is a serious problem and the people of the United States have wanted to solve this problem this for a long time. If people feel scared to go to school (which should be a safe learning environment for all children and all ages) that is a problem, and it needs to be solved, or at the very least put in barriers to deal with the mental disabilities and amount of guns associated with this problem.