If you remember the Columbine shooting killed 13 people. High school students who just had the urge to shoot people mostly at random and the students not having any weapons to fight back or protect themselves in this situation other than praying to God that their friends and their own life weren't taken in this tragic event.
Virginia Tech, in 2007, had a gunman on campus who took 32 innocent lives that day. They ask what would have happened if they would have had a concealed weapon to protect themselves before the shooting got out of hand. University of Texas had a gunman on campus this year who taunted people with his gun and shot around just to see their reactions. A student quotes "He looked into the library at which thousands of students were hiding in, showed us his gun through the window, and smiled from ear to ear as if it were a game to him." Luckily the gunman didn't shoot anyone or even try to shoot at anyone, only at birds and shots in the air. He took his own life within minutes after police arrived. This isn't the first time UT has seen a gunman. 1966 a man was in the tower that looks over their campus with a hunting rifle and sniped people as they were walking to class. The UT students then pitched an idea to the campus board that consisted of students being allowed to carry a concealed weapon with them at all times incase of this incident happening again. There are other campus shootings that I haven't mentioned.
This idea of students carrying concealed weapons on campus is still in debate. Many people believe students should have the right to protect themselves, I agree. I also believe it would give the gunman easier access to get his/her gun on campus. Would this increase more campus shootings? There are many things to think about before making a decision. The goal is to be safe and feel safe on your own campus.
Megan Carroll
I actually don’t think students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campuses. I do understand that when a gunman is loose on a campus the students at risk would want to be able to defend themselves, but I think there would be too many negative effects. I think there is more of a risk for students day to day by being allowed to carry weapons (in case of an attack) than there is risk of an actual school shooting. Think about what could happen if students were carrying concealed weapons on campus each day. What would happen if students broke out in a fight, verbal or physical? Would it result in one of the students pulling out their gun as a means of defense and perhaps firing? Would there be more violence between students when guns were more available? I think yes. Think about the risk of faculty. What if a teacher gave a student a bad grade or offended a student in class, would that student become so angry that they pull a gun on the teacher? I think it is very possible. Having concealed weapons on campus each day puts students, faculty, and staff at such a high risk. I think at an even higher risk than the chance of the school having shooter.
ReplyDeleteAllison Lafargue
I also do not believe that students should be allowed to carry weapons on campus. A student might feel safer with a weapon on campus, especially if a shooting were to happen, but so much more could go wrong with a student having a weapon. A student might be more likely to use the weapon if he/she were to have a bad day and that one little thing happened to set him off if weapons were allowed. This would be putting all students and teachers at a higher risk of being shot. I personally would be scared to go to class every day knowing that every time i walked past someone, they could be carrying a gun on them.
ReplyDeleteKara Oliver
I think that I would feel very unsafe if weapons were allowed on campus. Some people would have good judgment in knowing when to use them, but others could be just carrying them looking for trouble. I know the popular phrase "if guns kill people, then pencils misspell words" but I don't think that applies to a college campus.
ReplyDelete-Lizzy Ormsby