The Recent State Legislation And The Rulings In Courts,

While the debate and argument over the carry on campus law continues, more and more concerns are surfacing about the jeopardy it could put our nation in. Are students even mature enough for the handling of weapons? Students are not to be trusted with guns and college campus should stay a gun-free zone. Carrying a gun in general requires responsibility that people of a young age sometimes tend not to have. The handling a firearm and a lack of responsibility within a person can be a very dangerous situation. Judgement and maturity of such a young group are things to consider when thinking about the carry on campus law and a student’s capability to make smart choices when handling a weapon can’t be trusted.

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.

“Gun control? We need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost $5,000. Because if a bullet cost $5,000, we wouldn’t have any innocent bystanders.” (Rock, 1999) Chris Rock got a big laugh when he expressed his comical stance on the issues with guns. With the heart-wrenching reality of the Virginia Tech massacre, the issue of whether or not guns should be allowed on college campus has returned to the forefront of debates, and this is no longer a

With backpacks in tow and pencils in hand, college students crisscross campus with stress of acing the test, hardly thinking about their safety. This was the case on a clear Tuesday at the University of Texas on September 28th, 2010. Students fled from a mask gunman carrying an AK-47 and shooting randomly around campus. Nineteen-year-old Colton Tooley, wearing a black mask, eventually killed himself in the library. Remarkably, no one else was injured or killed. (MSNBC) This was not the case in 1966 when 16 people where killed with 32 injured by a gunman in the UT clock tower. The debate still wages on to allow concealed guns to be carried on college campus in Texas despite a recent bill that failed to pass. The US Constitutional Second

The difference on perspectives has been a major issue especially after President Obama’s constant effort to pass more gun control laws. In contrast, the presumably and deeply Republican state of Texas, which has very few restrictions on guns, has just passed a law that makes concealed carrying on college campuses legal. Such law has been a controversy and had divided reactions from Texans all around the state. The problem that is tried to solve with this bill is to prevent more mass shootings from happening in the facilities of higher education institutions. It is very important to

HB 910, better known as the Open-Carry Bill is a bill that was passed on May 29, 2015 and signed into law by Governor Jim Abbott after it cleared both chambers of the Legislature. The Open-Carry Bill allows licensed holders to carry concealed handguns on public college campuses. Abbott claims that the bill will not only strengthen Texans second amendment rights, it will secure them (The Associated Press, 2015). However, the bill has raised questions regarding the safety of students and faculty on college campuses. As a team, we initiated our research by questioning the results of how the bill will affect college campuses across Texas. The objective of our research is to gather qualitative and quantitative data that defines

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

On August 1, 2016, senate bill 11 (S.B. 11) was put into effect, which allows for the carrying of concealed handguns on Texas public institution campuses by license to carry a handgun (LTC) holders (Campus Carry UTSA). There has been lots of controversy over this new law, especially since there were 23 shootings on college campuses in 2015 alone. In this essay, I plan to explain the stipulations of this new law and why it is controversial.

In this article it was discussed the dual sided argument on whether having guns on campus is necessary or more of a safety issue than a benefit. This study used data from a Midwestern university to see the amount of support that was represented by faculty and students regarding campus safety procedures. Although attitudes significantly differed, student’s thoughts were similar towards faculty and staff on campus. But, the issues that were assumed to influence support for campus safety were not a reliable source. This suggested that the policymakers as well as state legislatures may consider the different opinions coming from the community on campus and the members before introducing disliked guidelines that could have little to no effectiveness.

The article “It’s about time for Texas’ guns on campus law” by John R Lott explains that guns should be allowed on all college campus’ in America. Lott explains that on the fifty year anniversary of the tragic shooting at University of Texas, the law to permit concealed handguns be allowed on public university campuses was passed. However, the University of Texas at Austin’s President, Greg Fenves, confirmed that the two events are separate issues that are not to be combined in any

College is a time of rapid change in a young person’s life, it can be many things but most importantly it is a time where students start to truly grow into their academic abilities. All students deserve an equal chance to grow in a safe learning environment, but this is not always possible as our culture has become more violent in recent years. Campus carry laws will allow law abiding citizens to protect themselves in a sacred institution, which has seen significant rises in violence in recent years. Not every tragedy is preventable, but allowing a person who has a permit to carry their weapon at school can prevent future massacres.

According to the National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL), states are considering or already implementing new gun policies on college campuses because of recent school shootings taking place across American universities (NCSL, 2015). Focusing on the newest passed legislation S.B. 11 that states “A license holder may carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder’s person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state” (S. 11, 2015). S.B. 11 also has provisions that state a public institution of higher education in the state of Texas may not adopt any rule, regulation or other provision that prohibits license holders from carrying handguns on the campus of the institution (S. 11, 2015). There are two competing sides to the argument of allowing guns on college campuses. The first point of view sees that a relaxation in gun policy and that allowing concealed weapons would

“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.

Many people suggested that having guns on campus could possibly have an effect on the amount of arguments that result in gun violence, and it does have an effect, but not one some may expect. Majority of case studies have proven that those who opened fire in an argument did not have a concealed handgun license. Having never learned the proper rules of having a gun for the entire purpose of protection, those people are endangering innocents and the only people with the power to stop them are licensed concealed handgun owners. Due to the fact that majority of the problems were caused by those who did not have a concealed handgun license; those cases are likely to happen with or without the open carry laws on campus. But, the knowledge that college students are armed on campus and have the ability to protect themselves, has the potential to cause gunmen to be deterred from shooting in the first