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Should guns be allowed on college campuses
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Should guns be allowed on college campuses
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“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” I have heard and seen this slogan almost everywhere I go, but what does it exactly mean? Guns are objects, and are just another TOOL used for self-defense. Guns cannot kill or hurt people, but rather it’s the people who handle and carry the guns that harm and kill others. Our government needs to take a closer look at our gun laws, and come up with a law that will help keep America safe. Recently our law makers of Texas have presented a bill that will allow carrying a loaded gun on college campuses legal. I was against the thought of an open gun carry law on college campuses at first, but after extensive research I have concluded that an open gun carry law on college campuses might not be bad and …show more content…
According to a February 2008 article, “Woman kills 2 students in Louisiana College classroom, takes own life,” published by Fox News, A 23 year old woman at the Louisiana Technical College, open fired with a .357 revolver killing two fellow students, and Taking officers approximately four minutes to respond to the first 911 call(n.p.). If this college had an open gun carry law in placed this shooting could have been prevented because this woman could …show more content…
This is especially true for woman. In the February 2013 article published by Michele Fiore she writes “Every college student should be allowed to defend themselves on our college campuses, especially our daughters, sisters and mothers. We have to be responsible for our own safety, and that means removing the target painted on “gun-free zones.”(Why states should allow guns on campus, Feb. 2013, n.p). Being a woman myself, I find this to be true. I often get scared just walking to my vehicle. What if I was attacked, and no one was around to help me? Having a gun on myself
In “Stop Worrying About Guns in the Classroom. They’re Already here.” the author, Erik Gilbert, argues in favor of the law allowing the concealed carry of firearms in college campuses. Gilbert claims that it’s futile to be “worried by the prospect of having guns in [the] classroom” because he believes that even before the bill was passed, some students and faculty were already carrying firearms to campus (Gilbert). Furthermore, he insinuates that despite the presence of firearms, there were no incidents of student or faculty causing harm. To support his argument, the author provides incidents which have occurred over the last decade at his campus, such as accidental discharge of guns in dorms, firearms in student’s vehicles, and one faculty member who was discovered to be in possession of a gun in an on-campus facility. Considering these incidents and previous knowledge of “prevailing regional attitudes towards guns”, the author assumes that significant numbers of students, and possibly faculty, bring guns on campus regularly (Gilbert). As for those who are afraid due to the new law, he declares to them that firearm permit-holders are not dangerous by comparing the rate of their crimes to that of police officers. He also reasons that permit holders need to be at least 21 to qualify—claiming that the more mature students qualify—and have background checks performed.
This essay will discuss the pros and cons of gun control. Some U.S. States have already adopted some of these gun control laws. I will be talking about the 2nd amendment, public safety, home safety, and do gun control laws really control guns. I hope after you have read this you will be more educated, and can pick your side of the gun control debate. So keep reading and find out more about the gun control laws that the federal and some state governments want to enforce on U.S. Citizens.
Is it any coincidence that the states with the loosest gun laws in America tend to contribute to the highest amount of national gun deaths and injuries? This is one of the main questions we should be asking when deciding what is best for our country and its citizens. Although gun control has been an ongoing issue, certain events like the Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and the Aurora, Colorado mass shootings have increased our attention to this topic. Although I believe that Americans possess the right to own a firearm, I believe there should be detailed screening and control systems to keep guns out of the wrong hands, to prevent more gun violence from happening in the future.
Allowing students and faculty who are licensed to conceal and carry a handgun on campus will result in reduced school shootings and make campuses a safer place to be. The debate remains, will the student who carries a concealed weapon provide protection and deter possible criminal activity or could the well-intended individual escalate an explosive situation, causing more harm. Future statics of criminal activities from the campuses that allow students to carry concealed handguns will be the true test.
Secondly, some people believe guns should not be allowed on campus because they may go off by accident. True, a gun may go off by accident, but according to, Students for Concealed Carry, out of 150 college campuses that allow concealed carry, there have been only three accidental discharges (Common). Two of them were by staff and one by a student. All three of the accidental discharges resulted in non-life-threatening discharges in which no one was injured (Common). All three incidents could have been prevented through proper training and practice, such as wearing a
One of the common arguments is that there is a higher suicide risk. People think that students would shoot themselves on campus because they had easier access to a gun. Another reason people state that concealed carry on campus is a bad idea is because they think that it would be a distraction to the other students. Anti-gun citizens have the idea that if a student or staff member has a gun on their hip the students will be unable to focus and thus won’t be able to be successful in their studies. “Public safety should be left to professionally qualified police officers, not private citizens with little or no expert training” (Procon). People think that police are more capable of protecting the people because they have to go through the academy and have extensive training. “A Taser is as effective as a handgun against an armed assailant” (Common Arguments). Another explanation people have is that if someone is firing a firearm the best solution is not firing back. They think that the more bullets that are fired the more chance of innocent people being injured. Would police be able to identify an active shooter from an armed and helping citizen? These people that worry this is because they are afraid that the police would shoot and hurt an innocent
Alternatively, the people who believe that concealed weapons should be allowed in college campus state that they are are allowed to because of what the second amendment. The second amendment allows for any resident of the United States to be able to buy and own a concealed weapon of their choice. Students for Concealed Carry state the point that a person should be allowed to own a gun if they wish to be able to feel safe and protect themselves by stating, “Why should a 105-pound woman who is allowed the means to defend herself against a 250-pound would-be rapist outside of campus not be afforded the same right on campus” (647)? Other people also believe that having a gun would be able to deter the shooter. They believe the shooter would be stopped just by the thought of him going to a place filled with guns would trigger feat in their brain and make them rethink that they are about to do. “It’s hard to attain infamy if a concealed handgun license holder ends your shooting spree before it begins” (Students for Concealed Carry 647). The final point most people who are for concealed carry on campus is that they believe they would be able to stop the shooter faster or before he even begins the shoot...
College is seen as the beginning of young adult life, but campus crime can prevent the continuation of that life.Yet, campuses still prohibit students from carrying essential self defense weapons. This is most likely due to their ignorance of the benefits involved with allowing campus carry. Campus carry improves the overall environment of a college and promotes safety. Students should be allowed to carry guns on campus due to the current lack of protection offered through the university and an individual’s lawful right, despite the belief that it would cause an escalation in violent crime.
School shootings have altered American history greatly over the past two decades. From 1997 to 2007, there have been more than 40 school shootings, resulting in over 70 deaths and many more injuries. School shoot-outs have been increasing in number dramatically in the past 20 years. There are no boundaries as to how old the child would be, or how many people they may kill or injure. At Mount Morris Township, Michigan, on February 29th, 2000, there was a 6 year old boy who shot and killed another 6 year old girl at the Buell Elementary School with a .32 caliber pistol. And although many shootings have occurred at High Schools or Middle Schools, having more guns on those campuses would not be a good environment for children to grow up in. However, on a college campus, the pupils attending are not children anymore; the age range is from 17 to mid 20’s. Therefore they understand the consequences associated to the use of weapons and have gained more maturity. In April 16th, 2007, at Blacksburg, Virginia, there was a shooting rampage enacted by Sung-Hui Cho (23 years, from Centreville, VA) who fired over 170 rounds, killing 32 victims, before taking his own life at the Virginia Tech campus. Colleges and Universities would be a much safer place, for student and teacher, if guns were permitted on campus for self-defense purposes.
Waiting for a police officer to arrive during a home invasion is a dreadful position to be in, even more so without a weapon. These type of situations are the pivotal moments in life where perspective is likely to broaden. As stated earlier, there are very little Concealed Gun Carriers involved in crimes which leads us to believe that criminals do not bother with registering for a gun. So what is the Campus-Carry law really doing to our society? It is enabling our fellow peers to defend themselves against the disobeyers of the law! Anti-gun activists hide behind their protest by saying that there are “few—if any—clear examples of mass shootings thwarted by armed students or faculty members.” While this may hold the slightest of merit to it, it is because Campus-Carry is merely a recent adaptation, at least in Texas. Even so, it does not excuse taking the right away of millions of Americans to protect their beloved ones. Whether armed students or faculty stand to make a difference in the moment of a terrorist attack, is not completely clear, but it helps to give people the option to defend themselves in the case of an
Khubchandani is a professor at Ball State University, which conducted a survey among the students at the University. He emphasizes, “However, the majority of women said there were more disadvantages to carrying handguns on campus. These were women who did not own firearms and did not have a firearm in the home growing up”(Most College Students). He says that utmost women do not want firearms on campus because they don’t see advantages from having concealed weapons on campus. But, he also states that this is the case because they have not been exposed in an environment with guns. Therefore people are only at a disadvantage if they don’t seek any information about gun assurance including a permit and gun
David Skorton and Glenn Altschuler wrote “Do We Really Need More Guns on Campus?” The story concentrates on whether or not guns should be allowed at college campuses. Skorton and Altschuler oppose this idea. Many examples are provided on why it is dangerous to allow concealed carry on campus. Some include the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Virginia Tech, and Northern Illinois University. All of the shootings resulted in severe injuries and deaths.
Concealed weapons on college campuses have been a debatable issue for a long time now. “Statistically, colleges and universities are relatively safe environments for students, faculty, and administrators”, but will concealed carry affect this (Kirszner and Mandell, 626)?Supporters argue that being able to carry a concealed weapon lowers the percentage of shooting or accidents and that it is simply constitutional to have the right to bear arms. On the other hand, non-supporters believe that this will affect the way of learning in school, and raise anxiety. While it is true that having a concealed weapon can make the person holding it feel safe, we should not allow it because it may bring more negative rather than positive things into the college campuses.
Due to the recent disruption of violent crimes on campus, many citizens that are pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on school campuses. Those who are with guns allowed on school campuses claim that their rights have been violated for the reason that many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on their property. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns with them. It is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus or any University. There are already too many guns available to the public or easy to get any kind of gun, and allowing them on
The idea of someone carrying a firearm on any educational campus can cause a debate in most groups. The arguments for either side are mostly opinionated with skewed facts. Today, everyone will be introduced to a new concept by compromise and proven methods. The idea of every legal person can carry on educational campuses can be accomplished with the implementation of proper training. The training standards for concealed carry license should be standard, with additional training for specialized locations. There is training for active shooter situations every school, the issue is the ability to execute the plan. With the proper style of training every campus in the United States could be safer and operate with less fear among the students, staff and faculty