Should College students be permitted to carry concealed weapons on campus?

Question

I believe that some students should be allowed to do so, but that some criteria must be met first (the following are only some of them)-

Why do I ask this question? As some of you may have seen on the news, the idea is to arm innocent law abiding students so that they may thwart another massacre like the one at VA Tech this week. The student would have a weapon, and hence, would have a chance to defend him/herself as well as others from a deranged gunman.

I think that there should be some kind of extensive course on gun safety provided to any student who wishes to carry a concealed gun on a school grounds. Also, a professional shooter should provide one on one instruction, and the student should also target practice, and become familiar with the weapon.

Of course, any student with this sort of privilege should also be held accountable if something were to happen, and the weapon were misappropriated or otherwise used in an irresponsible manner.

What do you think about this?

Answer 1

This really a question that doesn't have a good answer.

On the one hand, one thing that history has taught Americans is that solely relying on emergency responders is not a good thing. Emergency responders take time to get to a scene as they can not be everywhere at once. In a situation like at VT, seconds REALLY count. In the minute or two it takes for the police to get there, 30+ can be dead.

On the other hand, if one or two students in that classroom had CCW permits and were packing, the killing might have stopped after only a few dead. On the surface, students carrying on campus sounds like a great thing. Of course, there are drawbacks.

Issuing CCW permits to the general population is a huge leap of faith. The state can test and analyze someone extensively, but that is no guarentee that the person might be a nutcase (or might turn into one). Case and point, take a look at that female astronaut who flipped out after her male friend showed interest in another woman. Astronauts undergo extensive psychological testing and it failed to see this woman as a threat, and this was a "mature" professional woman.

Now take a look at college kids. College kids are still "maturing". They tend to be more mature than teenagers, but are not quite mature as most adults. The college environment tends to be filled with stress. On top of that, I went to a geeky Engineering school and there was a ton of underage drinking.

Not quite mature people that are under stress and drink a lot isn't exactly my top candidate for carrying firearms.

It's a tough question. While I am all for people carrying concealed weapons, I don't think it would be a good idea for kids to be carrying them on campus. Maybe I could agree with unconcealed weapons on a campus, but I still think that invites a whole new set of problems too.

Answer 2

I agree that a limited number of students with guns would be a good thing. I also agree that there should be very strong criteria applied to who should carry. Don't most colleges have Psych. departments? With the military offering so many benefits, many veterans are enrolling in college now. Many schools also have people who are studying to become police officers. Have the Psych dept. screen these people, give them a professional safety course and let them defend themselves. I go to college and there are many students I would not want to see carrying a weapon, but there are many who I believe would be responsible. Stopping a school shooter before hand has proven impossible, security or the police can not always get to the scene in time; If he had walked into a room with an armed trained student, the death toll could have stopped at that room. To all those who say guns don't stop violence; New Jersey has not only the toughest anti-gun laws in the nation, they also have three of the ten most dangerous cities in the nation. In that small of a state that doesn't seem to prove very well that unarmed citizens are safer.

Answer 3

I would not want to be near that school, that's for sure. In lebanon, during my college years, students belonging to different parties, used to have their guns on the tables while in class. Certainly it was bad, but luckily, it has never happened that someone pissed off at life, because of their gf or any other reason, started randomly shooting innocent people, like Virginia Tech. In the States, it has become a norm that students find their venting opportunity in schools and colleges, and the bad part about it, victims are innocent people. Having armed professors always carries some form of risk if and when that person could be having a nervous breakdown. Does it help though? It might if that professor was lucky enough to be in the same class of the student shooting others. Other measures certainly exist. Metal detectors, scanners, having security personnel around campus always gives a sense authority for those who might think of doing something like that.

Answer 4

Students shouldn't really have guns. People, on the other hand, should NOT let the army/navy/police be the only people with guns, as this invites the kind of government seen led by Julius Caesar as he marched his troops into Rome and assumed control with the only weapons/trained soldiers the country had.

Answer 5

NO! NO!! NO!!! I believe in guns and support the NRA, but not on ANY school grounds. That is the job of "Campus Security". Additionally, what ever happened to the original plan of the "Honor System"?? You see someone with a gun, you call security - They remove it, or the person, or both. A person goes to school to learn - And not to walk around packin' a piece, and scaring other students. A "club" for students on gun safety would be good though. I was on a school "rifle team" for 5 years, and they had safety classes, as well as competition target shooting with other schools similarly outfitted.

Answer 6

In my state that is easy to do. A person over the age of 18 years old can apply for a concealed weapon permit. It is especially easy for a woman to get such a permit.

However, since the permit owner is dwelling on private property the said owner (college) can ban such privileges. Their control only extends to the students they accept money to teach. It doesn't stop a non-college student from obeying campus policy. So it is up to each individual college to make such policy for it's students.

Personally, I think that Cho was a person who watched too much TV and played too many video games. This added with his psychoness made him want attention from what he SPENT so much time on ... he wanted attention from his babysitter (TV & Video games).

I think that there are many like him who would abuse the "Gun Laws". Do the concequenses (laws) really matter if you're going to kill yourself when it's all said and done with??? There's no control with these types. In my opinion, it's better to train students how to jump out of windows, block doors, and attack a person with a gun to gain control. These are skills they may need in this new world of terrorism.

Answer 7

For the most part I agree with you. Although, it is hard to know who to trust anymore. How does one know that someone like Cho Seung Hui could take one of those courses and appear to be a good person? Yes, however, if one of the students or teachers had been armed, I believe that less damage would have occurred.

Answer 8

No. There have been countless studies showing that more guns in a given area (neighborhood, city, county, etc) simply increase the rate of violence/crimes in that community. While the thought over everyone being able to pack heat sounds like it ought to have a cancellation effect or random crime (and I'm sure that nut at VA Tech would've thought twice if he had thought HE might have been in danger), it really only leads to more violence and crime with guns.
Einstein believed that the invention of the atom bomb would lead mankind to an age of peace and prosperity as the fear of using it would deter country from harming another. Then the US bombed Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, and commenced the Cold War hand and hand with the Soviets... more weapons simply means more violence.

Answer 9

absolutely not! to even allow it would lead to disaster. an open invitation to take a weapon away from someone. there are no secrets among peers. anyone concealing a weapon would be (made) in a short period of time. anyone thinking otherwise is only deceiving themselves. the most experienced cop always requests back-up. imagine yourself holding a gun all alone with no back-up

Answer 10

No. People who get into a fight are ten times more likely to use a weapon they are carrying on there person than to just fight with out the weapon. College students carrying weapons is not the answer.