Public Rifle National Rifle Association 's President Wayne Lapierre

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.

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.

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

“Your rights shouldn’t change as you step on campus…” Crayle Vanest, Students For Concealed Carry states. If you have your concealed licenses permit you should be able to carry your firearm onto campus. I see college campuses being extremely vulnerable to mass shooting because of the lack of firearms. It is argued that college students would be dangerous if they were allowed to conceal carry on campus, and it would be more of a risk. In my opinion campuses would be safer if students were legally able to conceal carry. In order to have a conceal carry licenses you have to go to class to obtain that. If a student is of age and has their conceal carry licenses permit they shouldn’t be limited to certain places that they are able to carry their

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. Debate over permitting or restricting the concealed carry of a firearm on college

Annale Renneker also discusses why concealed carry is necessary on college campuses today. Most college campuses are “open”, meaning that practically anyone can walk on to them and many buildings do not have metal detecters or security guards (Renneker 1). She cites the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy where the shooter was not even a student at the college, he simply walked on campus undetected and shot and killed 33 people before killing himself (Renneker 4). It is not difficult for one to enter a college campus and cause harm with a firearm if they intend to do so, anyone who has been on a public American college or university campus has seen non-students passing through at some point. She also cites the Department of Homeland Security’s

Firearms are a very profound subject to speak about due to violence and other issues behind them. College students are already aroused and stressed to do extraordinary in their courses. Would consenting untrained students to carry concealed weapons around campus be such an enticing idea, when at any moment someone could lose their mind and go on a shooting rage? One may never know what kind of background that specific being that carries a concealed firearm has. In reality no one knows what kind of effect this would have towards universities or college campuses, but it could result in a students’ academic performance. Weapons on university campuses would create a vast interference towards the education of college students; an individual might never know who is carrying a concealed weapon or what that person might organize to do. Students would be alarmed to speak up in class or anywhere around the campus for that matter. Concealed Weapon Carry should not be allowed in universities because students are immature, it would be a risky environment, and permit holders are not always lawful citizens.

This issue of campus carry has been around for a long while, because some people believe that guns ensure safety and others believe they bring danger. While on one side, there are pro-gun activists who want to see the college community safe from crime, on the other side stand the peace activists who want to prevent violence on campus caused by guns. The controversy has been brought into the light of the media recently with UT Austin’s legalization of concealed handguns on campus.

Gun ownership is on the rise and even college students want firearms now. Since 1999 college students owning firearms for protection has increased over 19 percent (DiMauro 17). With this rise whether or not these numbers should increase has become a heated issue. As of now 26 colleges allow concealed carry on campuses, totaling in over 70 campuses(Burnett) and many others are in consideration. Organizations such as Students for Concealed Carry are at work to educate the public on the truths of how on campus carry would to some degree benefit college students, professors, and all visitors. Firearms can be and should be allowed on college campuses primarily because it is a not only a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution but also

Texas, along with several other states signed a bill allowing concealed carry of firearms on campus, believing “that mass murderers target gun-free zones, including colleges and universities that ban firearms on campus” (Defilippis & Hughes). Furthermore, it is stated that gun advocates not only believe that firearms could obviate massacres on campus but also prevent sexual assault. Defilippis and Hughes argue that claims such as these are flawed and ignore the risks that come with allowing students and faculty to carry guns on school

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

In the past, there have been several shootings in schools across the nation. However, the students and staffs are questioning should the concealed weapon permit carriers have firearms in their possession on college campuses. Even though concealed weapon permit carriers are protecting themselves from harm by having their firearms; still other people are raising their eyebrows. On the other hand, there are other people who think carrying concealed weapons on campuses will cause more harm and the death toll will rise. As Time. Com writer Josh Sanburn points out that “the shooting at Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1, which claimed 10 lives including the gunman, is by far the worst incident on a college campus this year” (qtd. in Sanburn). Therefore,

Students and members of the faculty that hold a current Concealed Weapons Permit (CWP) should be permitted to carry their weapon on college campuses if they so choose. Notably, holders of CWPs are on average more responsible and safe than other members of society. Smith asserts that “People with concealed carry licenses are 5.7 times less likely to be arrested for violent offenses than the general public [as well as] 13.5 times less likely to be arrested for non-violent offenses than the general public.”

“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.

As an adult college student I see the world changing around me daily. Change can be great. However as we have seen with recent change within the Senate Bill 11 regarding campus carry not everyone seems open to this change. I find myself disagreeing with it completely. I feel campus carry does not benefit anyone and makes the learning environment a stressful one. However, according to the graph provided later in this essay there has been drastic reduction within concealed carry and violent crimes. We will explore this graph more in depth within this paper. Yes, it is within an American’s right to bear arms but with better limitations with learning environments.