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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.
College campuses are more dangerous than ever because of the past decade; guns have not only been manufactured in excess, but availability and ease of accessibility. According to James Cool (2008), a supporter of guns on campus, reasoned why the increase of weapons occurred recently; “Our nation was founded … during the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available due to the Industr...
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...t is our job, as citizens, to at least be prepared for the criminals’ attack and to be able to defend ourselves in time of need. At the Virginia Tech shooting, the responding police officers took approximately three minutes to reach the school, but about five minutes to break through the chains binding the doors together. Cho fired rounds off for about nine minutes. Out of those nine minutes only four, or less, could have happened, if a professor or other college personnel stopped the aggressive action before the tragedy was completed. Police cannot get there fast enough sometimes to save a life; citizens must be prepared for the worst. One thing is for sure, one would rather have it and doesn’t need it, than need it and doesn’t have it. People often ask themselves, “Why should I have a gun?” Well guns are needed when seconds count, and the police are minutes away.
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.
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms, but only in cases of self-defense and hunting for food. However, the use of guns has drastically changed since 1791 when the amendment was implemented. Today, guns are not solely used in their intended ways. Since 2010, over eighty-seven school shootings have occurred within American grade schools, high schools, and universities, resulting in approximately 107 injuries and 109 murders of innocent students. The two most deadly shootings in the world occurred in the United States: the Virginia Tech University Massacre which left thirty-two dead and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which left twenty-eight dead. Each new shooting prompts a debate about gun control laws and leaves citizens wondering about the accessibility of guns; any United States citizen over the age of twenty-one that does not have any previous felonies is able to easily receive a gun license. Forty-nine out of the sixty-one school shootings that occurred between 1982 and 2012 legally obtained firearms. The statistics become even more outstanding: seventy nine percent of all shooters have been diagnosed with a mental illness or disability, including the Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shooters, Seung-Hui Cho and Adam Lanza. Cho and Lanza were diagnosed with mental illnesses and disabilities, depression and autism, respectively. Even so, they were still able to acquire the guns they needed because extensive mental health background checks did not and still do not exist; Cho purchased his own weapon and Lanza stole his mother’s guns. Although the case studies of Lanza and Cho are only two out of the many school shootings, they should be considered prime examples to illustrate the necessity to add stri...
Supporting Point Why should college campuses be any different? They contain the country’s future presidents, senators and judges. They are also one of the most vulnerable places because most colleges don’t allow firearms on campus. The most important factor is that many students don’t pay attention to their surroundings so they are put in dangerous situations and they should be able to defend themselves to a certain extent.
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
In recent years the school shooting activity shows alarming rates. As reported by Duplechain and Morris (2014), more than 350 documented school shootings happened from 1760 until 2014, from those 190 happened from 1990-2014 alone. The numbers are staggering and even more staggering is to find out some of the details of those shootings. School shootings perpetrated by underage people even a student from the school that completed their killing rampage committing suicide. Although, it might seem that the problem comes from the accessibility to guns people could have, the reality is different. In most cases mental instability can play as a key element, while bullying and media coverage can also act as important factors. This paper will explore some of reasons behind school shooters from the past, and it will demonstrate how accessibility to guns had nothing to do with the outcome of their behavior, by responding to the following questions.
By appealing to several different views, Wheeler is able to grab every reader’s attention. Using schools as his focus point grabs the reader’s attention on a personal level. A school is a place where your children, your friends, your spouses all could be, and we still aren’t motivated to change our gun control laws. Tragic events do not have to happen like those that occurred at Virginia Tech, The Jewish Day care in Los Angeles, and Pearl High School. Wheeler believes concealed carry should be allowed in every school. Let’s make the students and teachers of these schools and colleges their own heroes. Wheeler says we must embrace all of the varied disciplines contributing to preparedness and response. We must become more willing to be guided and informed of empirical finding. School officials base policies on irrational fears. Wheeler states, “What is actually worse, the fear of what we think might happen, or the massacres that actually did occur?” Wheelers essay is very well thought out and uses fear, credibility, and factual evidence to support his beliefs. My belief is we should allow teachers and students to have guns at schools, as long as they have gone through training to do
Due to the current mayhem of sudden violence on campuses, many pro-gun activists have agreed that, not only professors, but students also should be allowed to carry guns on campuses. The Bill of Rights states that American people have the right to bear arms. That should be sacred to the people of America instead of infringed or taken away. But what cost comes to those who have committed violent crimes or have been suicidal? According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010 6,300 out of 100,000 people were harmed due to self-inflicted injury with firearms. That leaves roughly 93, 700 people that did not use guns for self harm (5). The articles also say that 16,000 out of 100,000 were used for homicide in the year of 2012 (83). College students should be allowed to feel safe and protected, but only after being given a large number of tests.
Guns are extremely powerful weapons. They can cause destruction, harm or even death. They can be used to defend and protect or to threaten and kill. Any way you look at it, guns are powerful tools, not only physically but socially. As college students it is important to stay abreast of the current events and issues circulating our country today, one of which is the controversial issue of gun control. It is extremely important to pay attention to where gun control laws are headed. The directions they take not only affect our nation and society but our future as well as we all move to communities and begin to raise families.
“Although the perpetrators of the school shootings at Littleton and other campuses have been surrounded by dangerous influences, such as television and the Internet, to which they do not know how to respond, they are responsible for their own behavior. The way to improve society is to improve individuals. Society, in particular parents, must take steps to ensure that children know the difference between right and wrong” (The Absence of Public Morality Causes School Shootings). While knowing the majority of shooters are strongly influenced by their surroundings, parents should be wise as to monitor what their children read, watch and view on the internet. The ability and ease to access a firearm should be sustained as well. Although guns will not directly harm anyone, if the weapon falls into the hands of an adolescent – whom has never handled a gun before – a very serious problem may arise. Parents need to learn to respect the age and development of their child and peach about gun safety, what is right and what is wrong, should their child start showing interest in
Thousands of kids roam a college campus - and it only takes one. No amount of preparation, staff training, or school-wide drills can prepare the university for something so terrible. This tragedy will forever change the way students and teachers operate the school. One man. One gun. And the sad part is that all of this can all be averted. For this reason, the law should consent to “licensed concealed carry” (carrying a weapon with a license) on campus. If students were allowed to defend themselves with their own weapons, they would. Teachers and students should be permitted to carry firearms onto the campus because the rule that bans weapons will not stop a shooter, it will greatly increase a person’s self–defense, and it can stop on-campus violence as well as shootings.
In this article Emmett Tyrell informs us about gun violence in schools and what the NRA has proposed to stop the gun violence, and mass shootings across America. While the gun control debate rages, many schools have become war zones, and all school zones are vulnerable. The National Rifle Association's has come up with a 225-page report contains dozens of recommendations to improve safety in our nation’s schools. The NRA’s National School Shield program will train and enable school personnel to carry firearms to protect our nation’s children.
In the wake of all the school shootings in the past fifteen years gun control has become a more serious issue than before. Gun control has always been a concern in the United States, but not until the first major school shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado did this topic become a reality to the American public. In 1999, this massacre left fifteen people dead including the assassins. And just recently on March 5, 2001 did the tradition continue, when Charles Andrew Williams killed two classmates, leaving many injured in Santee California.
As time goes by, cultures change, and people change. Gun laws have become very strict and a person must have a legal permit to carry a weapon in a public facility. Unfortunately, the misuse of guns have become a problem in America. School shootings have become more rampant. Even though we should all have the right to protect ourselves, we should limit the access of guns on our school campus. When children are not properly taught at home, it puts them at a greater risk to become a problem in the school setting. If a troubled child or an adult doesn’t have access to weapons at home, they could very well target those who do have access to weapons, especially those on campuses. Kids are shooting each other and they are also, sadly, doing the most disturbing and heart breaking thing a child can do, and that is to commit suicide.
In the past years, several schools and college campuses have suffered many shooting attacks, killing innocent people who just want to become professional and finish their careers. Those shooters have been caused by other students that might have personal or mental problems that make them think that they can solve their problems by shooting and killing people. This is why many people are arguing about the second amendment, if guns should be allowed on college campuses. Some arguments are: students are going to be more secure and they will be able to defend themselves in case that someone starts shooting. However, there is also a large amount of people who believe that if guns are allowed on college campuses there would be an increase of
George Washington once said, “Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people 's liberty teeth and keystone under independence …”. In the United States, Gun violence has become a reoccurring issue impacting the nation immensely. As we look into the past ten years, school shooting and public shootings have played out in the media stirring up a debate on gun violence. Because of these ongoing evil attacks, firearms are seen as the killer rather than the person who is firing the gun. Many are fighting for gun rights by using the points of the Second Amendment, the government’s control, and stricter gun laws.