Should concealed weapons be on campus?
The gun lobby claims that guns on campus is a Second Amendment issue – but the Supreme Court of the United States disagrees. the Second Amendment right does not cast doubt on the validity of “laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools…”, is written for the majority in District of Columbia v. Heller, by Justice Scalia. So, should concealed weapons be on campus?
Nearly 1 out of 10 undergraduates reported “seriously considering attempting suicide” and 1.4% had attempted suicide in the past 12 months. At one large public university, 14% of undergraduates and 11% of graduate students screened positive for depression. This may lead to a conclusion that if a depressed but armed with a conceived weapon student can quite easily start the shooting.
A Columbia University study found that half of U.S. college students binge drink or abuse illegal or prescription drugs, while nearly a quarter of college students suffer from substance abuse and dependence. Alcohol leads to impaired judgment about whether to shoot a gun, as well as impaired aim when firing.
Colleges and universities, which have traditionally prohibited guns on campus, are relatively safe from gun violence - but campus life is rife with other risk factors that make the presence of guns potentially dangerous.
In a 2008 survey of university police chiefs, 89% of the chiefs agreed that the most effective and important way to deal with gun use on campus is to prevent the use of guns at all. In surveys conducted in 2013 and 2012, 95% of college presidents and 94% of college faculty indicated they oppose concealed carry on campus. In a 2012 study of students, 79% said that they would not feel safe if concealed guns were allowed onto their campuses.
Sixteen states ban concealed weapons on campus while twenty-three states leave that decision to individual college campuses. There has been an increase in the number of states that affirmatively require their colleges to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus. Because of recent state legislation and court rulings, 10 states now have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on public postsecondary campuses.”
All 50 states allow citizens to carry concealed weapons if they meet certain state requirements. Currently, there are 16 states that ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus: California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. In 23 states the decision to ban or allow concealed carry weapons on campuses is made by each college or university individually. Because of recent state legislation and court rulings, 10 states now have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on public postsecondary campuses. Not included in above list, Tennessee allows faculty members with licenses to carry weapons on campus but the law does not extend to students or the general public.
In recent years, gun lobby-backed legislation that would force colleges and universities to allow guns on campus has been introduced across the country. This legislation, which would create new dangers and burden schools with significant financial costs, is opposed by university stakeholders from police chiefs to students to college presidents. Statehouses should not override the public safety judgment of our colleges and universities, especially given the risk factors common to campus life.
Furthermore, there is a strong link between alcohol abuse and suicide: alcohol is involved in roughly two-thirds of college suicides. Putting all of this together, the answer is obvious. Gaining some sort of control over student alcohol abuse, not putting more guns on campus, is the best guard against both sexual assault and student suicides. College students today are under enormous pressures. We owe them our best effort at harm prevention—one based on facts and research, not ideology.
Works Cited
1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/01/16/allowing-concealed-weapons-on-campus-is-not-the-solution-to-campus-sexual-assault/#44d907f6147c
2. https://everytownresearch.org/guns-on-campus/
Nearly 1 out of 10 undergraduates reported “seriously considering attempting suicide” and 1.4% had attempted suicide in the past 12 months. At one large public university, 14% of undergraduates and 11% of graduate students screened positive for depression. This may lead to a conclusion that if a depressed but armed with a conceived weapon student can quite easily start the shooting.
A Columbia University study found that half of U.S. college students binge drink or abuse illegal or prescription drugs, while nearly a quarter of college students suffer from substance abuse and dependence. Alcohol leads to impaired judgment about whether to shoot a gun, as well as impaired aim when firing.
Colleges and universities, which have traditionally prohibited guns on campus, are relatively safe from gun violence - but campus life is rife with other risk factors that make the presence of guns potentially dangerous.
In a 2008 survey of university police chiefs, 89% of the chiefs agreed that the most effective and important way to deal with gun use on campus is to prevent the use of guns at all. In surveys conducted in 2013 and 2012, 95% of college presidents and 94% of college faculty indicated they oppose concealed carry on campus. In a 2012 study of students, 79% said that they would not feel safe if concealed guns were allowed onto their campuses.
Sixteen states ban concealed weapons on campus while twenty-three states leave that decision to individual college campuses. There has been an increase in the number of states that affirmatively require their colleges to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus. Because of recent state legislation and court rulings, 10 states now have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on public postsecondary campuses.”
All 50 states allow citizens to carry concealed weapons if they meet certain state requirements. Currently, there are 16 states that ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus: California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. In 23 states the decision to ban or allow concealed carry weapons on campuses is made by each college or university individually. Because of recent state legislation and court rulings, 10 states now have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on public postsecondary campuses. Not included in above list, Tennessee allows faculty members with licenses to carry weapons on campus but the law does not extend to students or the general public.
In recent years, gun lobby-backed legislation that would force colleges and universities to allow guns on campus has been introduced across the country. This legislation, which would create new dangers and burden schools with significant financial costs, is opposed by university stakeholders from police chiefs to students to college presidents. Statehouses should not override the public safety judgment of our colleges and universities, especially given the risk factors common to campus life.
Furthermore, there is a strong link between alcohol abuse and suicide: alcohol is involved in roughly two-thirds of college suicides. Putting all of this together, the answer is obvious. Gaining some sort of control over student alcohol abuse, not putting more guns on campus, is the best guard against both sexual assault and student suicides. College students today are under enormous pressures. We owe them our best effort at harm prevention—one based on facts and research, not ideology.
Works Cited
1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/01/16/allowing-concealed-weapons-on-campus-is-not-the-solution-to-campus-sexual-assault/#44d907f6147c
2. https://everytownresearch.org/guns-on-campus/
Комментарии