...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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...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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...Faculty members should not be allowed to have a concealed weapon on campus for the same reason students shouldn’t be allowed. A faculty member can try to harm others the same as a student, but with a concealed weapon that would just help the process along. A professor could be angry for something that occurred off campus, but take it out on the students on campus. The anger may not be just yelling anymore, it could turn very violent very easy. Concealed weapons on campus in the possession of faculty members would be a huge distraction to the students. The students are in college trying to learn, but for some it may be very difficult knowing that your professor has a handgun with him. Instead of listening, the students may be coming up with...
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...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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...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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...and was a notorious part of Pontiac’s rebellion. The more recent shootings such as Columbine and Virginia Tech a majority of those victims were students. Many of the victims cannot rely on police in the beginning of these attacks, the average shooting lasts around 12 minutes but average police response time is 18 Minutes. Teachers should be able to carry concealed weapons because armed teachers and staff can decrease the threats of school shootings, intruders on campus, and respond to threats faster than the time it takes police officers to respond. The police are effective in handling these threats but the response time can take too long, with school staff members armed with concealed weapons they can stabilize the situation before the police arrive. Carrying a concealed weapons could escalate the confrontation and...
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...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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...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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...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 organization which advocated for legal concealed carry on campuses in the United States. This article is helpful because it outlines some of the opposing arguments that the affirmative side of our case may face, and provides useful rebuttal to those with facts, stats, and other information that is relevant to our central question...
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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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...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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...In the past few years, America has had many problems with gun control. Many shootings have occurred causing many deaths, including children. Some have been at elementary schools, college campuses, and even at a movie theater. What makes people think that by allowing college students to have guns on their campus will help solve this problem? Instead of helping, it might make things worse. There should not be any type of weapon on college campuses. There should be more restrictions on permitting guns rather than allowing more people to have access to them. Guns on college campuses should be prohibited because it can damage people’s emotional wellbeing, cause accidents, and raise crime rates. In the Constitution, there were ten Amendments added to it which gave people certain rights and privileges. These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. It was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, and was later ratified on December 15, 1791 (Amendment II Right to Bear Arms). The second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary...
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...Abstract Universities and College campus are a hot topic because every year they attract and house hundreds of thousands of not always quite mature teens and young adults. The perception is that the Campus Carry Law will not be very effective and could quite possibly back fire on innocent faculty and student body members, victimizing anyone who may come in contact with one of these radically violent individuals intent on harming people. (2015) Arrigo Bruce and Acheson Austin Contemporary Justice Review, Concealed carry bans and the America college Campus. Statistically numbers are down when looking back over the past couple decades. Since 1990 there have been 143 school shooting related instances and over 450 deaths and injuries. (2006) Norton Elia and Jennifer Ansier, USA Today, Behind the Bloodshed. The very fact any person could possibly be murdered or injured by another person at any moment in America has always been known and terrifies the majority of citizens. Like many Americans I have to ask, what we can do as a Nation, one unit, to better insure the public safety of every individual. To understand this problem we must go to the root. The American System and its five sets of institutions which ultimately control American way of life. The five institutions are legal, political, economic, educational and sociocultural. All of which too often combine to leave our efforts short of progression. Introduction The issue with gun laws and the legal system have to do with the...
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...As stated on thinkprogress.org, ABC News reported thirty-one school shootings in the United States since Columbine in 1999, where thirteen innocent people were massacred. Allowing professionally trained security guards to possess the right to carry firearms will drastically reduce the amount of deaths in similar situations, including those of children and teenagers. With the use of their firearms, security guards have a higher probability of being able to offer protection for the students and faculty. Although many opposers argue that the current precautions (such as cameras and alert systems) are enough to protect students across the nation, these tactics will only offer the student awareness instead of safety, which will result in them being...
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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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