Guns Should Not Be Allowed On College Campuses Essay

Sitting through an hour-long lecture or waiting in line to speak with financial aid are some examples of an average day on campus. It is during these times when students are least expecting tragedy to strike. A student may hear a loud noise and think nothing of it until they realize that noise was the sound of a shooting rampage that has reached their area and by that time it’s usually too late. Campus safety is everyone’s responsibility and remaining on alert is the only way to ensure less people are victimized. One of the first, and most memorable, attacks happened on August 1, 1966. Charles Whitman, a former marine, took rifles and other weapons to the observation deck atop the Main Building tower at The University of Texas- Austin, then randomly opened fire on the surrounding campus and streets. Over the next 96 minutes, far longer than the average active shooter attack, he shot and killed fifteen people. Included in the death toll was one unborn child, and injured thirty-one others. The incident ended when police reached Whitman and shot him dead. During this event, civilians played a vital role in assisting first responders in the take down of Whitman and Allen Crum, a 40-year-old bookstore manager and retired Air Force tail gunner, accompanied police up the tower in pursuit of Whitman. While Crum was armed, it solely because officers handed him a firearm to assist in Whitman’s take down.

Due to the recent upheaval of violent crimes on campus, many pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those for this may claim that their rights have been violated because many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on campus. It is not the right to carry a gun which is in debate here, but rather it is whether or not guns should be allowed on a college campus. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns, and being in the south, I am by far no stranger to seeing a gun from time-to-time, but it is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus. There are already too many guns available to the public, and allowing them on an educational facility would greatly increase the likelihood of injury or death. Americans, as previously mentioned, have the right to bear arms, and this should be held sacred, and not infringed, taken away, or limited. However, stricter firearm control should be implemented for those who chose to carry a concealed weapon, and gun control should be done by having stricter certification processes before a firearm or gun permit is issued, intensive psychological evaluation for the person or persons applying for a gun permit or a gun,and greater educational requirements for gun owners and firearm safety.

Concealed carry and college campuses are two major topics currently in the media, yet these two topics are rarely used in unison, until now. The topic of whether or not concealed carry should be allowed on college campuses is a now mainstream debate with multiple views and numerous differentiating opinions. Many of the general public question if campus police is capable enough to protect a university’s enormous student body? Another commonly discussed issue is if concealed handguns actually do deter crime, and if they are capable of aiding in stopping a mass shooting spree? Or if guns on campus, carried by fellow classmates would make students as a whole feel more cautious or on the opposing hand make students feel more secure with guns carried on campus? If guns are allowed on campus, how will this affect a growing student’s ideology? These questions and many more are highly spoken of in our social media based generation, the answers to these questions help to improve our knowledge on this debate of concealed carry on college campuses, which will lead us to form our own individual opinions on this debate topic based on the facts and evidence presented.

This same technique is used later in the article to emphasize the fact that many college students use mind altering substances such as drugs and alcohol; and that adding firearms, concealed or not, would add a new variable to possible suicides and intra-student violence. In addition to all of these statistics, the author also uses reason to make the point that college classrooms are places where you should be able to speak freely and without fear of possible retaliation. The author feels that if students do not know who may or may not have a concealed weapon on them, they may be less likely to speak their mind and learn all that they can.

Since those horrible days in 1966 and 2007 there have been at least 6 other major shootings at American College Campuses. Among those six, a custodian shot and killed 7 people while injuring 2 at the California State University on July 12, 1976. Also involved in a horrific shooting, Douglas Pennington was a parent of 2 students of Shepherd University. He killed 2 people before committing suicide. Some say this is reason enough to prohibit the use of guns all together, but there is still a voice that rings out heavily across the Nation- nearly 3 million voices, to be literal. That voice is the N.R.A. (Jost, 2007, 126)

According to the NCSL, National Conference of State Legislatures “Over the last five years, campus safety legislation has been a hot issue across the country”. Authors like Jazz Silva are standing up for student’s rights that some State Legislatures might not care about. Not only are weapons dangerous but it is unsafe to students who may struggle with mental health issues. College campuses are safer than the communities that surround them. The University of Louisiana system states “93% of the violence against students occurs off campus.” Allowing guns on campus would lead to an escalation in violence, can lead to an increased number of suicides by college students, and the possibility that a weapon can go off by accident.

Students and staff with guns are not only a danger to other people, intentions malicious or not, but also to themselves. Students under high stress and emotional distress in general do not need to be around tools that can cause so much harm with so little effort. This argument, with the resounding knowledge of the high use of mind altering drugs on college campuses, mixed with the statistics surrounding the unhealthy psyche of students should be enough to show that campus carry is a bad

Throughout its history, the United States has had a fascination with guns. Americans have used guns in times of war, for protection, and for hunting. Americans also use guns when they are intent on killing people. When violence happens in school shootings, drive-by shootings, assassination of public officials, or in the workplace and shopping malls, Americans demand something be done. This demand fuels the debate between gun rights and gun control activists. It fuels the debate over the interpretation of the Second Amendment. It fuels the debate on allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons in gun-free zones. This makes us ask the question: Should guns be banned from college

The mainstream media leads many to believe that mass shootings on college campuses are very common, and are in despite need of gun reform. This is actually false information, the truth is that campuses and other schools are among the safest places in America. According to recent studies, the actual homicide rates on campuses are one in one million, considerably less than the nationwide average of fifty-seven million. In addition, other crimes are still proven to be less likely to happen at colleges, rather than in common rural areas. And in most

The first, being the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, VA on April 16, 2007. This cowardly and savage attack was carried out by Cho Seung-Hui. This attack left 33 people dead and became the deadliest shooting rampage in a campus setting in history. This became more horrifying than Columbine, in my opinion. The reason I say that is because I was a Junior in High School when the Virginia Tech shooting happened and I was taking standardized testing that entire week. The next day, as what happens so frequently after a high profile national news story, we had a copy cat who threatened to do the same thing to our high school. I had never experienced so much high level security at my high school prior to that week. It was clear everyone was on edge, from the students, to the faculty, and from the police and SWAT that were on site at our high school. Fortunately nothing happened, but I remember being very uneasy that week. Ever since that week from hell, I have wondered what it would have been like if we, as students and faculty would have been allowed to carry a firearm to protect ourselves during that uneasy time. As I look back on that time I realize with everyone being on edge, had we all been allowed to carry for protection, maybe the nerves and edginess would have been slightly less and more subdued. Unfortunately, we will never know. Tragedies like what occurred at Virginia tech brought a mass political

On April 16th 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a student with psychological problems began a two hour killing spree that left 33 dead (Reader). The massacre that occurred at this school is now the worst recorded incident in the history of the United States and eclipses the University of Texas massacre of 1966. In the wake of tragedies like these, students, teachers and administrators propose more measures to make us feel safe on campus. But why weren't these measures in place before? School administrators and police have a responsibility to protect their students and faculty on campus, and these instances clearly shown a lack of fulfilling that responsibility. And yet several campus' refuse to allow law-abiding and

This issue of campus carry has been around for a long while, because some people believe that guns ensure safety and others believe they bring danger. While on one side, there are pro-gun activists who want to see the college community safe from crime, on the other side stand the peace activists who want to prevent violence on campus caused by guns. The controversy has been brought into the light of the media recently with UT Austin’s legalization of concealed handguns on campus.

In this article it was discussed the dual sided argument on whether having guns on campus is necessary or more of a safety issue than a benefit. This study used data from a Midwestern university to see the amount of support that was represented by faculty and students regarding campus safety procedures. Although attitudes significantly differed, student’s thoughts were similar towards faculty and staff on campus. But, the issues that were assumed to influence support for campus safety were not a reliable source. This suggested that the policymakers as well as state legislatures may consider the different opinions coming from the community on campus and the members before introducing disliked guidelines that could have little to no effectiveness.

In reading the essay titled, “Guns Don’t Belong in the Hands of Administrators, Professors, or Students,” the author addresses the concern for safety on college campuses. The author Jesus M. Villahermosa Jr., who was a deputy sheriff for Pierce County Sheriff's Department for thirty-three years of dedicated service until he retired in 2014. Certifications include: being the first certified Master Defensive Tactics Instructor for law enforcement personnel in the state of Washington, serving as a Firearm's Instructor, and an Active Shooter Instructor. Villahermosa not only discusses important questions when considering the terms of firearms on campus, and in the hands of administration and faculty but offers his experience, while informing the reader, of the likeliness of more heightened danger due to inadequate training which could potentially lead to death and other repercussions for the person holding the firearm.

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.