Guns On Campus Analysis

We Don’t Need Guns on College Campus, is an editorial written by USA Today (2015), justifying why college campuses should be free of any firearms. According to a 2014 overview by the National Conference of State Legislatures, twenty states have banned concealed weapons on campus, the twenty-three others have left the decision up for the institutions. The authors support this evidence with the example of a Florida University shooting that took place last year, stating students will not be safer if they are allowed to carry weapons on campus. In the editorial the writers explain the growth of legislations regarding the carrying of concealed firearms on a college campus, the lack of research that supports the legislations, and how others won’t
80), in the editorial the writers uses many facts, one fact is shown in paragraph fourteen where they tell how more states are showing more interest in gun laws. Although it is a fact that more and more states are considering allowing concealed weapons on campus, the writers infer that the readers believe it is only probable that a college would be safer if more students were carrying weapons. The writers show evidence suggesting that their readers value research, and that they do not believe enough research has been conducted to allow for guns to be allowed on campus. In the editorial the writers mention The Students for Concealed Carry, and how they state that part of their purpose is to protect civil rights to students and faculty who want to carry concealed firearms, “It is because of this human tendency to confuse beliefs with facts that a healthy society needs to preserve the freedom to debate, the right to disagree, the right to investigate one another’s claim about facts, truths, and realities.” Mayfield (p. 80). The authors call for evidence, saying laws need to be more carefully studied, discussed, and debated before allowing guns on campus. The authors tell how they believe if the law on concealed weapons show that it will make the campus safer than the legislation should be taken more seriously allowing for productive discussion. The
The readers of USA today are typically businessman, people who are interested in the laws being changed, and the safety of the growing generation. In the editorial, the writers use several tactics to persuade the reader into thinking concealed weapons on campus are bad. The writers bring up past legislations that have been failed to pass to show that there are other people, who are in power, who do not support concealed weapon carry. They use this tactic to show that they are credible. By giving examples of shootings that have recently taken place, the writer wants to bring to attention and negative emotion that having guns on campus is not safe for the people that are on college