Weapons on Campus

“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.”

After incidents like what happened at Virginia Tech and Columbine, the issue of gun control gets addressed again. Who should be allowed to carry guns? What regulations or restrictions should there be on gun ownership? Should guns be outlawed all together?
As stated in the Second Amendment to our Constitution, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Now come the arguments. Who are “the people?” What does “bear arms” mean? Does “the people” refer to the “well regulated militia?” Should our states still have “a well regulated militia?”
All these details make arguing so difficult and keep many picky and persnickety people from seeing the truth. Self-defense is protected by law. The Constitution says the people have the right to keep and bear arms. And that right “shall not be infringed.”
Why, then, is there still an argument?
If one or two students at Virginia Tech could have had concealed weapons, or if a classroom could have had a gun stashed under the teacher’s podium, the massacre may have only been a one- or two-fatality incident, rather than a shooting spree that ended in suicide.
I do realize that there are harms with agreeing that people are protected by law “to keep and bear arms.” There are some crazy individuals out there who, given the right to carry a gun, would endanger society.
However, with substantial background checks and training, gun ownership could be easily regulated.
Many people I’ve talked to – both students and parents – agree that in order to get a weapon, there should be an age restriction and the person should go through training (just like police officers who carry guns). The training would include safety classes, learning how to use a gun and getting a license, which should have to be renewed every few years.
Unlike drivers’ licenses, though, you’d have to be re-tested every time you go for a renewal.
I would personally feel much safer if I knew that I had a professor or a classmate (who wasn’t crazy) who carried a concealed weapon. Or if I could carry a concealed weapon. Not that Gainesville is a dangerous campus or that I’m paranoid…but you never know.
Just last year, there was a huge police chase going on in Flowery Branch, right near the high school. I was in class at the high school at the time of the chase. No one knew about it. What would have happened if one of the suspects had run into the school?
I might not be sitting here writing this column.
I realize that there are those who don’t want guns. That is completely respectable. And it hasn’t escaped me that certain people do not need to have a gun.
And that’s the reason we’d need extensive background checks before issuing a license to carry a gun and selling one. It’s also the reason for requiring a lot of training.
A law was passed in Kennesaw in 1982 that required the head of each household to own a gun. Before the law was passed, the rate of burglaries per 1,000 people was 11. In 1998, the rate was 243 crimes per 100,000 people, or .243 per 1,000. Compare that to Decatur, which as a crime rate of 4,049 per 100,000 people. (Source: rense.com)
It’s pretty obvious to me that guns lower crime rates. Potential criminals think twice about shooting someone who owns a gun.
When is it, on shows like Cops and Law and Order, that a bad guy wielding a gun stands down, or is more open to negotiations?
When someone stands up to him with a gun. Having a gun puts you on the same level as a potential killer. Suddenly, he doesn’t feel so powerful or invincible. Mere talk doesn’t do that. Neither would mace, knives, or batons. In order to get close enough to use it on a gun slinger, he’d see or hear you, and you’d be shot before you could even say “gun control.”
I highly doubt we’d regress back to the old west days, with men running around in cowboy boots and wearing chains of bullets draped across their chests. Regular arguments could still be handled in a civilized manner involving a few drinks and a heart-to-heart.
Guns are like condoms: there for protection. People always tell you to make sure you have protection before engaging in risky behavior. Walking through Atlanta can be risky behavior. Pissing off the wrong person can be risky behavior. Are the Supreme Court and some misguided lobbyists going to prevent “the people” from their Constitutional rights? Can they tell us what to do and what we’re allowed to carry to make ourselves feel more secure?
I don’t think so. I’m an individual, and I want my Constitutional rights upheld. If I want to carry a concealed weapon, there should be no one stopping me. (Except, of course, if I failed training or something.)
If my history professor would feel more secure carrying a concealed gun in his briefcase, more power to him. He’d be doing it to protect himself and his students. (Perhaps his Constitutional right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness?”)
Guns aren’t bad, except in the wrong hands. They need to be in the right hands to prevent the wrong hands from committing serious mistakes.
Bear in mind that guns don’t kill – people with guns have the potential to kill.