Firearms on College Campus
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Firearms on Campus There has been an on going debate about whether or not college students and/or professors should be allowed to carry firearms on campus. The Law allows each state to determine if concealed weapons are allowed to be carried on campus. Many advocates of firearms are in agreement that firearms should be allowed on campus. In the past years, there have been shootings on college campuses that killed many and injured many. Allowing those who are licensed and trained to carry firearms on campus would seemingly act as a deterrent to those who may have ill intentions and often are carrying illegal firearms. With the proper training and education on firearms, students and professors would have the ability to neutralize a potential threat and have the ability to protect themselves and those around them. Understanding that it is the duty of law enforcement to protect all of our citizens, it has become very clear that they can not be everywhere and response time to a life threatening situation is not always ideal. Many argue that students and professors on college campuses should maintain focus on education and that allowing firearms on campuses may cause distractions. Take the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16th, 2007(1) as an example. In two shooting sprees that happened roughly two hours apart, a student at the university shot and killed 32 people and wounded a number of others before turning the gun on himself. If a trained and educated student or professor had been in possession of a firearm, many lives could have been saved. There have been many debates about allowing students to carry firearms. Many of the most common debates about why firearms should not be allowed on campus are easy to respond to:
Answer: Studies* show that 90% of suicides are committed in the home. Because most college students over the age of twenty-one (the minimum age to obtain a concealed handgun license in most states) live off campus,
Firearms on Campus There has been an on going debate about whether or not college students and/or professors should be allowed to carry firearms on campus. The Law allows each state to determine if concealed weapons are allowed to be carried on campus. Many advocates of firearms are in agreement that firearms should be allowed on campus. In the past years, there have been shootings on college campuses that killed many and injured many. Allowing those who are licensed and trained to carry firearms on campus would seemingly act as a deterrent to those who may have ill intentions and often are carrying illegal firearms. With the proper training and education on firearms, students and professors would have the ability to neutralize a potential threat and have the ability to protect themselves and those around them. Understanding that it is the duty of law enforcement to protect all of our citizens, it has become very clear that they can not be everywhere and response time to a life threatening situation is not always ideal. Many argue that students and professors on college campuses should maintain focus on education and that allowing firearms on campuses may cause distractions. Take the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16th, 2007(1) as an example. In two shooting sprees that happened roughly two hours apart, a student at the university shot and killed 32 people and wounded a number of others before turning the gun on himself. If a trained and educated student or professor had been in possession of a firearm, many lives could have been saved. There have been many debates about allowing students to carry firearms. Many of the most common debates about why firearms should not be allowed on campus are easy to respond to:
Answer: Studies* show that 90% of suicides are committed in the home. Because most college students over the age of twenty-one (the minimum age to obtain a concealed handgun license in most states) live off campus,
Cited: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre Virginia Tech massacre – Wikipedia, free encyclopedia 2. http://www.concealedcampus.org/common_arguments.php Students for Concealed Carry on Campus – Supporting self-defense on Campus ----------------------- 2011 Firearms on Campus