Mass Shooting On Campus Research Paper

A major issue in the United States is gun control. Due to multiple mass shootings in schools and public areas, restrictions regarding guns have been implemented across the United States. Andrew Parks, a student at The University of Alabama, wrote an article against gun restrictions. His article, “The University should allow concealed carry,” supports the idea of college campuses like The University of Alabama, allowing students to conceal carry firearms. In an article written by Jennie Kushner, the opinions of students on the University of Alabama’s Police Department’s gun policy are presented. The safety of student body relies on the students’ feeling safe. That safety comes from less gun control laws and policies on campus. Each of the articles stated provides information against gun control in different ways.

Due to the recent upheaval of violent crimes on campus, many pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those for this may claim that their rights have been violated because many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on campus. It is not the right to carry a gun which is in debate here, but rather it is whether or not guns should be allowed on a college campus. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns, and being in the south, I am by far no stranger to seeing a gun from time-to-time, but it is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus. There are already too many guns available to the public, and allowing them on an educational facility would greatly increase the likelihood of injury or death. Americans, as previously mentioned, have the right to bear arms, and this should be held sacred, and not infringed, taken away, or limited. However, stricter firearm control should be implemented for those who chose to carry a concealed weapon, and gun control should be done by having stricter certification processes before a firearm or gun permit is issued, intensive psychological evaluation for the person or persons applying for a gun permit or a gun,and greater educational requirements for gun owners and firearm safety.

They defend this view by saying that,”…people are safer when they have guns to protect themselves; and that an armed bystander could put a stop to a mass shooting in progress” (Skorton and Altschuler 629). Timothy Wheeler makes another point by stating that gun free zones are easy targets for danger and that school killers have taken advantage of effective security (655). He enforces the idea of allowing guns on college grounds by affirming that at “…the Appalachian School of Law in 2002 [a] homicidal Virginia student was stopped from shooting more of his classmates when another student held him at gunpoint” (Wheeler 656). Skorton and Altschuler claim that “colleges and universities are far safer than most public places in the United States” (629). Although that is true, permitting guns on site would counteract that view in and out of the classroom. If firearms were to be allowed on college grounds would campuses still be considered secure locations, would students be able to speak freely on controversial topics, would they really be able to stop attackers if anything was to ever

Concealed carry and college campuses are two major topics currently in the media, yet these two topics are rarely used in unison, until now. The topic of whether or not concealed carry should be allowed on college campuses is a now mainstream debate with multiple views and numerous differentiating opinions. Many of the general public question if campus police is capable enough to protect a university’s enormous student body? Another commonly discussed issue is if concealed handguns actually do deter crime, and if they are capable of aiding in stopping a mass shooting spree? Or if guns on campus, carried by fellow classmates would make students as a whole feel more cautious or on the opposing hand make students feel more secure with guns carried on campus? If guns are allowed on campus, how will this affect a growing student’s ideology? These questions and many more are highly spoken of in our social media based generation, the answers to these questions help to improve our knowledge on this debate of concealed carry on college campuses, which will lead us to form our own individual opinions on this debate topic based on the facts and evidence presented.

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.

Students and staff with guns are not only a danger to other people, intentions malicious or not, but also to themselves. Students under high stress and emotional distress in general do not need to be around tools that can cause so much harm with so little effort. This argument, with the resounding knowledge of the high use of mind altering drugs on college campuses, mixed with the statistics surrounding the unhealthy psyche of students should be enough to show that campus carry is a bad

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

The presence of guns on post-secondary campuses has taken on a new light after the recent Virginia Tech and UA

The idea of Concealed Carry arms at universities is a controversial topic for both students and faculty on whether guns should be allowed or banned on campuses throughout the United States. The idea of Concealed Carry Arms is a controversial topic because it represents both protection and fear as no one knows who has a weapon, whether they have it legally or even if they know how to use it properly and safely. Also, nobody knows of someone else’s intentions with Concealed Carry Arms as they could use that gun for protection or murder. The idea of allowing Concealed Carry Arms on campus is a controversial topic that could affect universities and campuses in the United States.

Opponents believe “armed by standers can save others, protect themselves from harm and have the right to the second amendment” (Skorton and Altschuler 629). Students for Concealed Carry argue that firearms are in a person’s daily life, “Are students afraid to sit in three-hundred-seat movie theaters knowing that statistically speaking, as many of their fellow moviegoers may be

Although eight states have passed provisions allowing concealed weapons on public campuses and several other states allow campuses to decide if they are allowed, instead colleges should take a holistic view and approach to provide a robust security program, safety training, communication network and guidance on behavior awareness for faculty and students. As States continue to pass campus carry laws the colleges continue to funnel the majority of their focus dedicated to passing the law. This has eroded and overshadowed the end result, which is to protect students and faculty. Campuses should not allow students to carry guns on campus. By providing this false sense of security it dilutes the opportunity to implement tools, train and provide strategies to improve campus safety.

In the article “The Numbers on Arming College Students Show Risks Outweigh Benefits” by Evan Defilippis and Devin Hughes, the authors speak on the controversy surrounding the law that now requires universities in several states to allow concealed firearms in campus. I came across this article on the LexisNexis Academic database, which is a great source for finding viewpoint articles from newspapers or magazines. In the article, Defilippis and Hughes argue that although campus-carry advocates testify to the benefits of guns on campus, according to statistics, the authorization of guns on campus has more risks than it does benefits.

372. That is the number of mass shootings in the United States in the 2015 alone. Out of that 372, 64 were school shootings. Ever since the Columbine mass shooting in April of 1999 the country’s laws and regulations regarding gun control and how to prevent these horrible tragedies have been a highly debated topic. As more and more innocent lives are lost it is clear that something must be done to put a stop to not only mass shootings, but gun violence in general. The most recent solution, proposed specifically to decreased gun violence on college campuses is campus carry. Campus carry is allowing people to carry concealed firearms on college campuses (Doubleday). Many states have already put campus carry into effect, and many people are in favor of the law, stating that by allowing students and teachers to carry concealed firearms on campus would decrease the amount of shooting and make the campuses safer. On the other hand, that is a large majority of people against the law, arguing that college students can

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 and universities occupy a special place in American society. They are much more than a series of buildings and collection of individuals. Instead, they are dynamic living and learning environments where individuals with varying levels of maturity interact, often under stressful circumstances. While recognizing the right of responsible individuals to possess firearms under other circumstances, the unique characteristics of a university campus make the presence of firearms problematic. The shootings that have occurred in recent years at US colleges and universities have generated passionate debate about how best to prevent such violence and whether persons should be allowed to carry concealed guns on campuses. Experts believe there is no credible evidence that students or staff carrying guns would reduce crime. In fact, research has shown that the brains of most college students have not fully developed regarding impulse control and judgment” (Dickerson). Therefore, guns should not be allowed on college campuses because it would lead to an escalation in violent crime, distract from the learning environment, and lead to accidental discharge incidents.