Saturday, March 29, 2008

Gun Laws on Campus




Guns should be allowed to be carried on school campuses if the person has the right training and permission. For someone to be able to carry a gun , i think that it should be required that they have an extensive background check to make sure that they are mentally competent and that they would not abuse the fact that they are carrying a gun. It should also be required that they have gun training so that they know how to operate a gun correctly. They should also be educated in gun safety, including how to safely store and carry a gun so that it does not get into the wrong hands. The University should also have very harsh punishments for anyone who carries a firearm without the proper certification.
One of the strongest arguments that I found for being allowed to carry guns on campus, was the person in the wheel chair, he said that he can't move very fast and if there was a threat he would not be able to get away in time, and he considers himself as a target. A strong argument against having guns on campus was that many people do not feel safe knowing that there is someone in one of their classes that is carrying a weapon without them knowing about it.
A strong argument against having guns a campuses was said by Professor Barbara Nash when she stated how having more guns on campus will not create a safer society. A weak argument for not having guns is the fact about people just not feeling safe, because if hey have the proper certification then it should make people feel safer.
Having teachers but not students carry guns could be a potential solution. Having just the teachers holding guns would create a more controlled environment and everyone would know exactly who is holding guns. On the other hand this could potentially be bad because if there were to be a shooter on campus, teachers would be the first targets because hey are he only ones with defense mechanisms.
The Second Amendment states that people have the right to bear arms, but as for most laws, they are different when it comes to high school or college campuses because schools have additional rules.

1 comment:

Becky said...

I don't think students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus, however, I definitely agree that if they WERE to be allowed, tons of training, etc should be required. Obtaining rights to own a gun should be a process similar to obtaining citizenship. It should be a long process involving classes, background checks, tests, etc. And perhaps, those who are legally able to carry guns should have annual background checks and have to re-take training classes, etc every year just to make sure they ALWAYS know what they're doing, because everyone else is, in a sense, trusting that person with their life as well.