...Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? 1 Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? Toni Struve COM/155 University Composition and Communication I May 6, 2012 Kathleen Zurich Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? 2 Abstract This essay debates the pros and cons of allowing concealed carry weapons on campuses. Both sides have relevant information that supports their point of view. I have presented data from both sides of this issue and leave it to the reader to decide which argument they will support. Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? 3 In the war over guns, the first casualty was the truth (Kleck, 2009). Could the results of the tragedies at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and the private college in California been lessened if concealed weapons were permitted on campuses? Studies have been conducted, but there have been no definitive results. Each side of this question can quote statistics and studies that will prove their point of view. There is no absolute answer to this question, but many people believe that the outcome may have been much different if concealed weapons were present on campus. As with every issue of this magnitude, there are two sides to this question. The debate about whether to allow concealed weapons on campus raises questions of personal safety, legality and are gun-free zones really safer. Students for Concealed Carry is a nationwide organization made up of over 43,000 students, professors...
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...Texas Campus Carry Texas Campus Carry has been a major topic of debate as of late. Many of those who support Campus Carry believe that concealed handguns allow licensed adults to defend themselves and protect others in the event of a crisis. These supporters believe gun laws only restrict law abiding citizens from their 2nd amendment rights with minimal effect on criminal gun owners. However; many anti-gun activists believe that more guns are not the answer to a gun problem and a Campus Carry law may increase accidental discharges, violence, as well as youth suicides. The University of Texas massacre fifty years ago is a prime example of this heated issue on both sides of the gun debate. On August 1, 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman climbed the University of Texas Tower, in Austin, and in a span of 96 minutes fired 150 high-powered rounds of ammunition down into unsuspecting university students and faculty. Those nearby heard "strange noises" and thought nothing of it until they saw the bodies and blood on the sidewalks. The shooter killed and wounded nearly 50 people that day (Lavergne). A similar occurrence happened on a Monday morning April 2007, on the campus of Virginia...
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...Guns on College Campus Should guns be allowed on college campus? Kenton L. McGowen Abstract This paper will determine whether guns have a place on college, and school campuses. The conclusion that the paper reaches is that students who have guns will be tempted to use them, especially at universities and colleges that are full of drug use, stress, and anxiety. The mixture of guns into a formula like that is simply not conducive to a safe environment. This paper will take evidence from experts, as well as state rulings to show the two sides of gun control in regards to school campuses in order to answer the question: Should guns be allowed on college campuses? The constitution of the United States guarantees our right to bear arms in order to defend ourselves, but where does the line fall where it is ok and not okay to carry weapons? The debate has shifted from restaurants, to stores, and now to schools. It is recently that the question has come up, should college campus students be allowed to have guns? The question is a safety issue and mostly centers around a need for the preservation of life on these campuses, and whether or not the guns are absolutely necessary to have. It has been spurred on by the recent slew of school shootings that have hit areas of the country, most notably Virginia Tech in 2006. There are valid argumentative points to both sides, however. As previously mentioned, the constitution of the United States guarantees...
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...and Reid K. Smith. "Gun Control Facts." 11 Feb. 2013 Web 18 Sept. 2014. http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp. This is a web document in which the authors cover pure statistics and facts. Graphs, tables, quotes, and statistics are all that this piece contains. This resource is useful since it was updated a little more than a year ago with the most recent data and continues to be updated as new stats and facts become available. It is also neutral in nature, giving just the facts and referencing both the affirmative and negative sides of the argument. 2. McEntee, Peg. “Utah Teacher Shoots Herself in Leg With Concealed Weapon.” Huffington Post 11 Sept. 2014 Web 18 Sept. 2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/teacher-shoots-self-concealed-weapon_n_5807826.html?utm_hp_ref=gun-control The Huffington Post is a news site with an entire section dedicated to news surrounding gun control, both recent and past. This article is helpful because it outlines the concealed carry laws in Utah schools, a state which has closely modeled it’s laws after Colorado’s. This article is useful because it describes some of the negative effect that concealed carry on campus has for the person carrying as well as the student population/their parents if they find out about the firearm. 3. Students for Concealed Carry. “Common Arguments Against Campus Carry.” Concealed Campus 2011-2012 Web Sept. 18 2014 http://concealedcampus.org/common-arguments/ Students for Concealed Carry is a student run...
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...Imagine sitting in a classroom, just like any other day. All of a sudden, two of your classmates walk in with guns, shooting you and your fellow peers. The idea might sound far off, but that is what happened at the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999. According to a school safety timeline, “Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, go on a shooting rampage and kill 12 students and one teacher, wound 23 others and then kill themselves” (School Safety Timeline). Weapons were not allowed at the high school, but that did not stop the students. However, there is a large debate going on about whether or not teachers and college students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on school grounds for self-defense. If teachers and university...
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...Concealed Handgun License Carriers Rights in Higher Education: A Classical Argument With around 300 million guns in civilian hands, the United States is a nation thriving with gun culture. Time after time, tragedies of guns falling into the wrong hands, leading to a school massacre, provokes schools to restrict firearms on campus through school policy. Even though facilities of higher education have been deemed generally safe places, school shootings have periodically disrupted that ideology, triggering debate of how students and faculty should defend themselves in the event of a shooting. Restricting firearms on campuses, a notion praised by gun-control advocates, raises the argument of the constitutionality of that decision by gun advocates. In order for an individual to be able to properly exercise his/her right to self-defense, college firearm policy shouldn’t ban carry of handguns by CHL holders, because it infringes on the second amendment, infringes on the ability to defend oneself, and would deter the effects of violence and crime on college campuses. Colleges shouldn’t ban the carry of handguns by CHL holders as it allows individuals the right to defend themselves in event of a shooting. In the past few years, there have been many instances of violence on campus from killers who did not have a CHL license. Theses shooters appear randomly and the amount of damage they can do is unpredictable. Campus security and police are only so available, and are most likely too...
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...Concealed carry on campuses ranges from any building that is owned or leased by a institution for higher education, according to Section 61.003 of the education code. An act of carrying handguns on campuses was enacted by the legislature of the state of Texas in 2016, however, before this was passed there was years of consideration and minimal action. Leading up to this bill there were numerous occurrences of fatal campus shootings and massacres, passing this bill would in hopes allow students to protect themselves if a situation arises and/or help stop the progression of a shooting. Although the students on campus could potentially lesson the number of victims injured or worse, there was also the potential of the opposite to happen, more guns...
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...“Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror” (Eliot Spitzer). There is no way in telling what peoples intentions are in this world. Allowing firearms on college campuses make it easier for those who don’t have good intentions harm the people surrounding them. College campuses are supposed to be heartwarming, comfortable, and safe. Allowing firearms on campus is not a good idea; there have been many cases on gun shooting occurring on campuses. On august 1, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the University of Texas Tower with three rifles, two pistols, and sawed-off shotgun (UT Tower). Charles Whitman was a 25-year-old architectural engineering major and an ex-marine; who had already murdered his mother and his...
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...and injured seventeen. If at the time, carrying a concealed firearm on campus was legal Seung-Hi could have been stopped before he hurt so many people.The new Bill eleven states that both the students and teachers twenty-one and older are allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus with a license. I completely support the new Bill and campus carry on because students and faculty that are qualified should have the right to...
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...The average college student’s backpack probably contains a laptop, spirals, and textbooks. As of right now, you will not find a firearm, but what if that changed? Ever since the death of 32 innocent people on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, state legislators nationwide have constructed a bill to allow individuals to carrying concealed weapons on campus, including inside dorms and classrooms. The bill has failed to pass on 55 separate occasions in 29 different states. Recently, however, there has been a push to legalize the concealed carrying of handguns on college campuses. If this law passed, it would only increase the risk of a shooting on campus rather than hinder it. According to the list on Wikipedia, since 2000 there have been approximately 149 school shootings in the United States alone. The majority of these aggravated rampages resulted only in injuries, many still resulted in loss of life. While the vast majority of these shootings occur in grade schools, many still occur on college campuses. While campus shooting may be far and few between, is one not enough to show that more guns is not the solution to the problem? This may be little more than a statistic to...
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...The issue of gun control is a very serious matter because of the danger that can come with firing a gun. Guns are weapons, and although they can be used for protection, accidents can happen. This is one of the reasons that there should be some form of restriction on the use and carrying of guns in public places. Texas should not become an Open Carry state. This is not to say that citizens and licensed gun holders should not be allowed to carry their weapons, but concealed carry is a better plan of action in my opinion. Personally, I am not comfortable with seeing someone, other than a police officer, with a gun in public. Bad decisions and gun related accidents can happen in an instant. I think there is not a lot that Congress and the Texas...
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...Concealed weapons on campus BCOM/275 Concealed weapons on campus Concealed weapons on campus? In recent years America has been haunted by reality of horrendous school shootings such as what occurred at Virginia Tech in 2007. With this ugly reality some people are advocating for permission of concealed weapons on campus. Firearms can be used as a good form of defense against a formidable threat but would the carrying of concealed weapons on campus really make the campus safer? What if the law stated that only permitted faculty were allowed to carry weapons on campus? Some feel it’s strictly a matter of self-defense while others feel that there is no scenario where concealed weapons on campus could do anything more than create a more dangerous situation. Last year, to the dismay of some, Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the University of Colorado’s gun ban violated the Concealed Carry Act of 2003. We as a whole must take into consideration the effects this has on students and faculty safety. In order to assure that the community within a campus feels safe we must have regulations on gun control. Proper checks and balances must be initiated to ensure that travesties of the past will not happen again. We will need the support from organizations and the public in order to apply pressure for new legislature to be written. Unfortunately, we live in a society where it takes drastic measures, sometimes, to accomplish what is needed for the overall good and safety of...
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...A Place Where Concealed Weapons Should Not Be Permitted A college campus is a place where our children go to earn a degree after leaving high school. You will also find some adults on the campus trying to get ahead in life by furthering their education. Although education is what they seek, they find themselves exposed to a variety of things that are not considered safe. Weapons are one of these exposures. And the law is trying to make concealed weapons legal. Students carrying concealed weapons exposes the college campuses to more threats and should not be permitted. There was an incident where an anonymous caller threatened a college in Santa Monica, and dozens of elementary and middle schools had to be put on lockdown. The college itself was evacuated. Classes at East L.A. College were canceled for the rest of the day (Threats, 2013). This...
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...has been robbed. His expensive laptop and textbooks are no longer there. His hand fingers the gun as he thinks about the people who are responsible and how he can get revenge. Imagine being a college student, hearing of thieves that steal textbooks and computers. You think that having a legal gun offers you a sense of protection and it scares the other thieves. Now imagine yourself as a stressed out college student who has a hard time controlling your emotions. One night your future is taken away from you and your put in a difficult predicament. The gun that you own assures you that you can get revenge. College students should not be allowed to have guns on campus. Allowing a young adult to own a gun on school campus endangers the life of other students and people. As a mother, I wouldn’t want to attend a college where reckless young adults are allowed to have guns. Not all college students are mature enough to handle the responsibility and repercussions that comes with owning a gun. There is also the question of how mentally stable they are. The stress of working and college exams can cause someone to do something they might regret, and if that person is allowed to own a gun, they are not only threat to someone else, but to their selves also. If college students feel unsafe, a solution would be to improve security. As a college student, would you rather your peers own a gun or the professionals? If college campuses hired more police officers, they could keep a watch on...
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...“Gun Laws in the U.S.” “Guns don’t kill people, people do!” This slogan is used by many gun right advocates in America today. I couldn’t agree more! People kill people during the commission of crimes, in the heat of passion, or through a series of innocent, yet deadly mistakes. Gun right advocates continuously lobby the legislature into submitting bills that would allow John Q. Public to legally carry firearms onto college campuses. Firearm possession does nothing more than create a false sense of security to their owners. Nevertheless, gun right advocates believe they can make it safer and reduce crime by introducing firearms into the campus environment. This introduction is not only dangerous, but accidental discharges and other seemingly innocent misdeeds could cost you your life. First, “There’s no epidemic of campus violence,” said Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Conflict and Violence at Northeastern University in Boston (Cohen, 2007, p 1). “In fact, there are so few homicides on college campuses that you’re much safer there than you are in almost any other venue” (Cohen, 2007, p 1). Other experts agree that of all the places young adults spend their time, a college campus likely provides the largest safety net (Cohen, 2007, p 1). College campuses employ a multilayer approach into keeping campuses safe and free of crime. Communication is the key to keeping campuses safe. Most large universities use smart phone apps and emergency callboxes...
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