Gun Control Laws Should Be Enforced

Gun Control in America has been argued back and forth for decades past. On one side it is strongly believed that the Second Amendment suggests that individual citizens have a constitutionally protected right to own a gun and protect themselves. These individuals believe that gun control laws do not in fact reduce gun violence. On the other side it is said if Gun Control laws are enacted there would be less gun and school violence. Also, it would be harder for criminals and juveniles to obtain a firearm. Both sides have very valid arguments and historical evidence to back their positions on within this debate.

Each person has their own idea of what our founding fathers meant when they put this in our constitution. Some people use guns as a hunting sport or for food. But then there are the ones who want to cause harm to each other. I still remember the morning of December 11, 2012. The day the Clackamas Town Center shooting occurred. A man entered a busy mall, killed 2 people and seriously injured another. He ended up shooting himself after causing all that fear and pain to the shoppers. My family and I had planned to visit the mall that day to take my relatives who came to visit from California, but we overslept. We heard the news on the radio on our way there and we turned around knowing we could have been there. The culprit stole an AR-15 from

Allowing guns on campuses has to be one of the most absurd solutions conceived to regulate safety. Firearms have no place in the hands of staff and students on campus. The idea is totally blown out of proportion because many universities actually considering concealed carry believe the impact will be less crime and more safety, but what exactly does it mean to allow a weapon on college property? People that are for campus carry argue that those with a firearm will be able to defend themselves against any incident that is bound to happen, but what happens when they pull out a gun? How will students, staff, or law enforcement react? Guns on campuses are not a good idea due to the fact students aren't fully mature enough to carry a weapon, they will become inhibited in

According to the NCSL, National Conference of State Legislatures “Over the last five years, campus safety legislation has been a hot issue across the country”. Authors like Jazz Silva are standing up for student’s rights that some State Legislatures might not care about. Not only are weapons dangerous but it is unsafe to students who may struggle with mental health issues. College campuses are safer than the communities that surround them. The University of Louisiana system states “93% of the violence against students occurs off campus.” Allowing guns on campus would lead to an escalation in violence, can lead to an increased number of suicides by college students, and the possibility that a weapon can go off by accident.

The mainstream media leads many to believe that mass shootings on college campuses are very common, and are in despite need of gun reform. This is actually false information, the truth is that campuses and other schools are among the safest places in America. According to recent studies, the actual homicide rates on campuses are one in one million, considerably less than the nationwide average of fifty-seven million. In addition, other crimes are still proven to be less likely to happen at colleges, rather than in common rural areas. And in most

Although most colleges allow students to bring guns on campus they do not allow them to be brought into class or administrative buildings. Many gun advocates would like to see gun normalized everywhere and a good way to that is to implement that is when people are young and developing their values and understanding of the world. The passing of campus carry laws have exploded in recent years favoring strong proponents the theory, if we provide the law to allow students and faculty to carry we remove gun free zones. Therefore protecting the population on campuses with the thinking that mass shooters prey on those schools with gun free zones. Several of the deadliest

In the United States of America, there is a rising epidemic happening and its gun violence and the violence will not only rise, but triple if guns are permitted on college campuses and inevitably cause a ripple of issues. With several campus shootings, the most fatal being in 2007, the shooting that occurred at Virginia Tech University, a number of states are pushing harder to consider legislation about whether or not to permit concealed guns on college campuses and to obliterate the existing firearm regulations. This is not Colleges and Universities purpose; they’re for learning and experiences and amongst other things, not about guns. Students and faculty should not be allowed to carry firearms onto college campuses, firearms are illegal on most campuses, and that is how it should remain. In 2015, the number of colleges and universities in the United

Allowing concealed weapons on campus can also prevent casualties and injuries in the event of a mass public shooting. According to Smith “Between 1977 and 1995, the average death rate from mass shootings plummeted by up to 91% after such laws [right-to-carry concealed handgun laws] went into effect, and injuries dropped by over 80%.”

With the recent history of gun violence on college campuses, questions have been raised on how incidents like these can best be prevented. One proposed solution is allowing firearms to be carried on campuses. With many states passing the open carry law, the topic of guns on campus has become a major issue; however, there are many reasons to why allowing guns to be carried on campus would not help prevent situations like these. A college campus is a place where individuals of different maturity levels come to learn and develop. Research has shown that college students are not fully developed in regards to impulse and judgment, so allowing a student to be able to carry a gun would not be a logical choice. In addition, allowing guns on campus could lead to an increase in reckless shooting incidents, an increase in gun related crimes, and add to the difficulty to law enforcement personnel. A college campus needs to be a safe place for all. To ensure the safest environment for college students, guns should not be able to be carried on campus with the exception to law enforcement.

Due to the significant number of violent shootings on college campuses in the past recent years, many have argued that both students and teachers should be allowed to carry a concealed handgun on campus to defend themselves. They believe it will help stop shootings and make campuses safer, but will it? These people who are suggesting this are only thinking about their own safety and not thinking about the consequences that will flourish due to guns on campus. Guns on campus would not only lead to an escalation in violent crimes, but will lead to an increase in the number of incidents. Allowing people to bring guns on college campuses won’t solve anything; instead we should be limiting the amount of weapons to make it a safer environment for both students and teachers.

According to the Violence Policy Center, there were only 211 justifiable firearm homicides in the U.S. during 2013. In that same year, there were 7838 criminal gun homicides. That means that for every justifiable gun homicide, there were roughly 37 criminal homicides committed with a firearm. Even having a gun can make a situation more fatal. An American Journal of Public Health study found that a person with a gun on them during an altercation with a firearm was 4.46 times more likely to get shot than those who did not. Guns ultimately do more harm than good in most

Colleges should not be allowed to take away your personal protection unless they can provide a truly safe environment for students. Sadly, most campuses can’t guarantee that assaults won’t occur, so people must be allowed to arm themselves for protection. While some schools have security or law enforcement, rarely can they reach the scene of an assault fast enough to prevent it. If the victim or a bystander has a self-defense weapon, there is a much greater possibility of stopping the attack. Attackers also avoid areas that allow firearms, and knowingly target places that don’t allow them. On October 9th, the Crime Prevention Research Center released a revised report showing that 92% of mass public shootings between January 2009 and July 2014 took place in gun-free zones. If college campuses nationwide reflected on the findings of this report, it would become apparent that allowing concealed weapons on campuses would significantly lower the odds of attacks occurring. Campuses that allow conceal carry are utilizing one of the biggest measures to deter assaults. According to John R. Lott Jr., PhD, "when states passed concealed carry laws during the years we studied (1997-2005), the number of multiple-victim campus shootings declined by 84%. Deaths from these shootings plummeted on average by 90%, injuries by 82%.

Colleges should not be allowed to take away your personal protection unless they can provide a truly safe environment for students. Sadly, most campuses can’t guarantee that assaults won’t occur, so people must be allowed to arm themselves for protection. While some schools have security or law enforcement, rarely can they reach the scene of an assault fast enough to prevent it. If the victim or a bystander has a self-defense weapon, there is a much greater possibility of stopping the attack. Attackers also avoid areas that allow firearms, and knowingly target places that don’t allow them. On October 9th, the Crime Prevention Research Center released a revised report showing that 92% of mass public shootings between January 2009 and July 2014 took place in gun-free zones. If college campuses nationwide reflected on the findings of this report, it would become apparent that allowing concealed weapons on campuses would significantly lower the odds of attacks occurring. Campuses that allow conceal carry are utilizing one of the biggest measures to deter assaults. According to John R. Lott Jr., PhD, "when states passed concealed carry laws during the years we studied (1997-2005), the number of multiple-victim campus shootings declined by 84%. Deaths from these shootings plummeted on average by 90%, injuries by 82%.

Guns on campus lead to violent shootings. Students with guns on campus are a threat to everyone. They cause others to feel unsafe and grab everyone’s attention. If a student argues with a fellow student and they both disagree something could go wrong. “Concealed carry laws have the potential to dramatically increase violent on college and university campuses” (Dickerson). If a school bans students to carry concealed weapons on campus there will be fewer chances of a shooting taking a place. Students participate in certain activities

In the “Allowing Guns Won’t Make Campuses Safer” article, the president of Drexel University in Philadelphia John A. Fry, who happens to be the author of this article, made plenty valid points to support his point of view. He goes back into recent American history and provides incidents where guns have led to extreme violence. For example, last year a student killed six and injured thirteen near the University of California in Santa Barbara. Another incident was in 2013 when a twenty-three year old shot his father and brother before killing three others at Santa Monica College, and that is just to name a few. Mr. Fry said, “Only in America do we respond to shootings with the need for more guns. Arming college campuses will do little to reduce mass attacks, and will likely lead to more shooting deaths” revealing his stance on guns on campuses and in our country.