The Second Amendment guarantees that an individual’s right to possess and bear arms will not be infringed upon, yet college campuses have denied their students’ right to carry a weapon for years. As of 2014, 22 states do not allow students to carry guns on campus and 22 leave the policy of guns on campus to the schools. The remaining 6 allow students to carry weapons, but not necessarily into school buildings. Only in Utah is a student’s right to concealed carry protected by state law. While the government, state or federal, may not be able to control a private institutions right to ban guns, on public school grounds, students should be allowed to legally carry weapons, as they are on almost any other public grounds. Not only is the right protected by the Second Amendment, allowing concealed carry on campuses would contribute to lower crime rates, rather than lead to more crime. The debate on college campuses’ gun policies mirrors that of the national level in that at the heart of both debates is the interpretation of the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment reads “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Some argue that the wording used is outdated and that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual’s right to bear arms—the Supreme Court disagrees. In the 2008 Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court concluded that the wording of the Second Amendment does in fact guarantee an individual’s right to possess and carry a weapon (Mauro). While the debate over the Second Amendmant is not over yet, with the Heller ruling, for now the right to bear arms is protected by the Constitution; me... ... middle of paper ... ...ses Are Safer Without Concealed Weapons." Gun Violence. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Why Our Campuses Are Safer Without Concealed Handguns." 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. "US College Student Demographics in 2012." MarketingCharts. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. . Wallis, David. "Coming Home From War to Hit the Books." NY Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. . "Weapons prohibited in certain places - Local laws and ordinances - Exceptions - Penalty.." RCW 9.41.300:. Washington State Legislature, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. .
In “Stop Worrying About Guns in the Classroom. They’re Already here.” the author, Erik Gilbert, argues in favor of the law allowing the concealed carry of firearms in college campuses. Gilbert claims that it’s futile to be “worried by the prospect of having guns in [the] classroom” because he believes that even before the bill was passed, some students and faculty were already carrying firearms to campus (Gilbert). Furthermore, he insinuates that despite the presence of firearms, there were no incidents of student or faculty causing harm. To support his argument, the author provides incidents which have occurred over the last decade at his campus, such as accidental discharge of guns in dorms, firearms in student’s vehicles, and one faculty member who was discovered to be in possession of a gun in an on-campus facility. Considering these incidents and previous knowledge of “prevailing regional attitudes towards guns”, the author assumes that significant numbers of students, and possibly faculty, bring guns on campus regularly (Gilbert). As for those who are afraid due to the new law, he declares to them that firearm permit-holders are not dangerous by comparing the rate of their crimes to that of police officers. He also reasons that permit holders need to be at least 21 to qualify—claiming that the more mature students qualify—and have background checks performed.
With many recent incidents that involve guns between 2012 and 2013, gun control laws have become a hot topic in America. On one hand, after the horrific incident like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at Newtown in 2012, most people wanting to limit guns from getting into the wrong by setting up a rigorous system that control who can and cannot obtain a gun. On the other hand, we have the people who believe that with such rigorous system in place is violated the individual rights that granted and protected by the United States Constitution. They believe that the rigorous system will prevent people from defending themselves and could be a violation of their privacy. Regardless of which side is right, if we want to understand more about our current conflict, we have to look back on how this hold debate started. The District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court case in 2008 that found the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 unconstitutional, which influence the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense by questioning the Second Amendment and laws that restrict a person from acquire guns.
Doeden, Matt. Gun Control: Preventing Violence or Crushing Constitutional Rights? Minneapolis: Lerner, 2012. 7- 61-63. Print.
There is a saying that says, “Why fix something that isn’t broke?” In other words, if something is doing good the way it is already then don’t change it. The same applies with concealed gun carry on college campuses. If college campuses have been statistically proven to be one of the safest public places, then why try to fix them by bringing concealed guns into campuses. I believe that there should not be concealed handguns allowed in college campuses because it will make students more unsafe, would make the learning environment in class a very unhealthy experience, and cause trouble for the campus police to spot a real shooter.
Concealed weapons on college campuses have been a debatable issue for a long time now. “Statistically, colleges and universities are relatively safe environments for students, faculty, and administrators”, but will concealed carry affect this (Kirszner and Mandell, 626)?Supporters argue that being able to carry a concealed weapon lowers the percentage of shooting or accidents and that it is simply constitutional to have the right to bear arms. On the other hand, non-supporters believe that this will affect the way of learning in school, and raise anxiety. While it is true that having a concealed weapon can make the person holding it feel safe, we should not allow it because it may bring more negative rather than positive things into the college campuses.
Why would a student feel the need to carry a concealed weapon on campus? After all they’re headed to a “school” not a war zone. Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin are the only states that allow concealed weapons on campus. Arizona and other states let schools decide the policy on weapons. Many states prohibited concealed weapons on campus which is the right choice. Most colleges who allow their students to carry concealed weapons increase the chances of violence on campus. College students must be unable to carry concealed weapons on
Since the time we are born until the moment we die we are taught to follow a specific routine in our lives without questioning the why or the consequences our actions bring. During that course humans tend to become so familiar with our routines that when an unexplained incident occurs, we panic because it is something we’ve never been exposed to, an example to this are the killings of innocent people whom we care for in environments where security and education are supposed to be the priority. In our eyes campuses are supposed to be protected by those who wear uniforms and are trained professionals that are ready to deal with such situations, so why allow a law that will grant any civilian the right to carry guns on campus,
This debate has produced two familiar interpretations of the Second Amendment. Advocates of stricter gun control laws have tended to stress that the amendment’s militia clause guarantees nothing to the individual and that it only protects the states’ rights to be able to maintain organized military units. These people argue that the Second Amendment was merely used to place the states’ organized military forces beyond the federal government’s power to be able to disarm them. This would guarantee that the states would always have sufficient force at their command to abolish federal restraints on their rights and to resist by arms if necessary. T...
Concealed weapons in college campus’s have been a big issue since the mass shootings in Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois Universities. Allowing for guns to be allowed in college campus’s would be a bad thing to do since it would create additional risks for students, even if weapons were allowed it wouldn’t deter the shooter, and it would detract from a healthy learning environment. So far there is only five states , Colorado, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin, that allow “concealed carry” at school campus.
College campuses are more dangerous than ever because of the past decade; guns have not only been manufactured in excess, but availability and ease of accessibility. According to James Cool (2008), a supporter of guns on campus, reasoned why the increase of weapons occurred recently; “Our nation was founded … during the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available due to the Industr...
As violence and murder rates escalate in America so does the issue of gun control. The consequence of this tragedy births volatile political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment. The crux of the question is what the founding fathers meant when they wrote, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Since the writing of the Second Amendment the make and model of firearms has changed dramatically and so has the philosophies of the people. A rifle is no longer defined as a single shot, muzzle-loading musket used to primarily protect families or solely for food. Should the weapons we use today be protected by an amendment written nearly 222 years ago? Should the second amendment be rewritten? Does the Second Amendment apply to individual citizens? These questions spark extensive debates in Washington D.C. regarding what the founding fathers intended the amendment to be. The answer to this question lies in the fact that despite hundreds of gun control articles having been written , still the gun control issue remains unresolved. History tells us gun control debates will be in a stalemate until our judicial system defines or rewrites the Second Amend. This paper will examine the history of the Second Amendment, and attempt to define the framers intent, gun control legislation and look at factors that affect Americans on this specific issue...
In the past years, several schools and college campuses have suffered many shooting attacks, killing innocent people who just want to become professional and finish their careers. Those shooters have been caused by other students that might have personal or mental problems that make them think that they can solve their problems by shooting and killing people. This is why many people are arguing about the second amendment, if guns should be allowed on college campuses. Some arguments are: students are going to be more secure and they will be able to defend themselves in case that someone starts shooting. However, there is also a large amount of people who believe that if guns are allowed on college campuses there would be an increase of
Thesis: The truth is in the numbers, and the numbers show that in every state that has passed the right to carry firearms that the crime rates in those states has dropped. This is why a campus carry law that makes it legal to carry on college campuses is the right step to combat crime.
Another solution that we can use to help stop the problem of gun control is maybe allowing students to carry guns on campuses and letting them defend themselves if needed. Although there is many speculations and arguments on this topic this could be a solution that America could try to help defend ourselves in case we were in the presence of a situation involving a mass shooter. A pro for this argument is advocates for allowing concealed guns to be carried on campus claim armed students and staff will deter any acts of aggression toward the school. The thought is similar to the Founders reasoning for including the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights – a well-armed militia can defend against first attacks. Lawmakers say students fear for their lives and want a way to defend themselves. Some students even personally said that they will feel much safer if they were allowed to carry a non-concealed weapon or a concealed weapon to defend himself if necessary. Andrew Dysart a student at George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia, where is an empty.. holster on campus last year following the shootings at Virginia Tech. The ex-marine want students to be able to carry concealed guns on campus for protection. With all this in mind it might not be a bad idea to let students carry weapons on campuses for
College is an important stepping stone for millions of students around the world. The last thing these students want to think about is watching their backs as they walk to class. Parents should not have to worry about the safety of their children away at college. However, schools are turning into one-sided war zones. No student is allowed to carry a firearm on a university campus, yet young adults are being gunned down left and right.