Spring Break
Guns OK on campus?
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Opinion
From Monday to Friday this week, the 25,000 members of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus will wear empty holsters to protest laws that deny students the right to carry concealed guns on campus.
The protest closely follows the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings and comes at a time when nine states are considering legislation on the matter. According to CNN.com, Utah is the only state to allow weapons at all public universities, and Colorado allows guns at all public colleges except the University of Colorado-Boulder campus.
To obtain a CHL (concealed handgun license) or a CCW (concealed carry weapons permit), states require applicants to meet an age requirement, take a class, pass written and shooting tests, state and federal fingerprint/background checks and pay a fee. Six states allow this license to be given out beginning at age 18, while the others begin at age 21.
When the WC debated the question of whether or not Western should allow licensed students to carry concealed weapons on campus, we found the topic so charged and complicated we could not come to a consensus.
While allowing guns on campus may make some people feel safer - including those who might carry them - it left us unsettled to think about an increase of weapons on campus, especially with the prevalence of alcohol in some areas. We feel carrying a gun in your own waistband may increase the feeling of being unsafe on campus and cause people to live in fear.
Then again, students would have to pass a safety course to obtain a FOID card and a gun, then pass additional tests to obtain a concealed weapons permit, so why can't we trust students to handle guns responsibly? Maybe having a concealed weapon is a good idea; that way, if a shooting occurred, students would have a way to defend themselves.
After searching the Internet for scientific evidence, we found carrying a weapon may not be much help.
"The best science that we have says concealed carry laws do not save lives, as the proponents contend," said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore, in a Christian Science Monitor article.
Each side of the issue has valid arguments, but the WC wonders if choosing either way will really make much of a difference. Gun violence on campus does not hinge on whether carrying weapons is legal or illegal - it can happen in both situations. It would seem the real problem is how easy it is to obtain a weapon.
Perhaps legislators need to focus on greater restrictions for those who try to purchase a gun and tougher punishment for those who sell and purchase guns without proper licensing.
The protest closely follows the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings and comes at a time when nine states are considering legislation on the matter. According to CNN.com, Utah is the only state to allow weapons at all public universities, and Colorado allows guns at all public colleges except the University of Colorado-Boulder campus.
To obtain a CHL (concealed handgun license) or a CCW (concealed carry weapons permit), states require applicants to meet an age requirement, take a class, pass written and shooting tests, state and federal fingerprint/background checks and pay a fee. Six states allow this license to be given out beginning at age 18, while the others begin at age 21.
When the WC debated the question of whether or not Western should allow licensed students to carry concealed weapons on campus, we found the topic so charged and complicated we could not come to a consensus.
While allowing guns on campus may make some people feel safer - including those who might carry them - it left us unsettled to think about an increase of weapons on campus, especially with the prevalence of alcohol in some areas. We feel carrying a gun in your own waistband may increase the feeling of being unsafe on campus and cause people to live in fear.
Then again, students would have to pass a safety course to obtain a FOID card and a gun, then pass additional tests to obtain a concealed weapons permit, so why can't we trust students to handle guns responsibly? Maybe having a concealed weapon is a good idea; that way, if a shooting occurred, students would have a way to defend themselves.
After searching the Internet for scientific evidence, we found carrying a weapon may not be much help.
"The best science that we have says concealed carry laws do not save lives, as the proponents contend," said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore, in a Christian Science Monitor article.
Each side of the issue has valid arguments, but the WC wonders if choosing either way will really make much of a difference. Gun violence on campus does not hinge on whether carrying weapons is legal or illegal - it can happen in both situations. It would seem the real problem is how easy it is to obtain a weapon.
Perhaps legislators need to focus on greater restrictions for those who try to purchase a gun and tougher punishment for those who sell and purchase guns without proper licensing.
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 9
Big Gay Al
Albert Lowe
posted 4/21/08 @ 9:22 AM CST
The question of whether or not to allowed concealed firearms on campus is really academic. The state of Illinois does not issue Concealed Pistols Licenses (What we call them in Michigan) and therefore, does not recognize out of state permits either. (Continued…)
Adam
posted 4/21/08 @ 12:08 PM CST
Unfortunately, you have missed a vital set of statistics. In states where concealed carry has been put into place, the overall crime rates in those states have dropped. (Continued…)
Brandon Stone
posted 4/21/08 @ 1:26 PM CST
Then again, students would have to pass a safety course to obtain a FOID card and a gun, then pass additional tests to obtain a concealed weapons permit. (Continued…)
Woodard R. Springstube, Ph.D.
posted 4/21/08 @ 2:33 PM CST
Since Illinois has no issuance of concealed carry permits to any person, the question is academic for Illinois residents. However, as a 59-year old associate professor of business at a small, private college in Texas, I would like to know why the State of Texas would trust me with a CHL and allow me to carry on the streets of Austin, but think that I cannot be trusted on campus. (Continued…)
brennan
posted 4/22/08 @ 8:05 AM CST
None of this holds any significance when they enlist Martial Law. The countless presidential signing statements already created the new world. Martial Law is the 'trigger event' that allows them to be enacted. (Continued…)
Uncle Lar
posted 4/22/08 @ 10:05 AM CST
CCW permit holders are subject to a higher standard simply because they choose to equip themselves with the means for self defense. Get caught drinking while armed, loose the permit. (Continued…)
Jack Burton
posted 4/22/08 @ 3:13 PM CST
"The best science that we have says concealed carry laws do not save lives, as the proponents contend," said Jon Vernick, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore, in a Christian Science Monitor article. (Continued…)
Jack Burton
posted 4/22/08 @ 3:26 PM CST
... and if one close-to-the-edge student at a different university was allowed to carry a concealed weapon and pushed over the edge by a bad grade, he or she already has a gun and doesn't have to think through the situation before pulling it out. (Continued…)
Post a Comment