The argument regarding guns on campus has been a hot topic ever since the widely covered tragedies at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University
Semien
Chris Semien
Ted Daniel
English 1301
3 October 2012
Guns on Campus
The argument regarding guns on campus has been a hot topic ever since the widely covered tragedies at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University. Since those and other shootings have taken place, some states have decided to make provisions to gun carrying laws on campuses allowing students and faculty to arm themselves. However, not all states have been able to pass changes on such a polarizing issue, and are met by heavy opposition from anti-gun groups. The debate is one with deeply rooted emotions for some, as family members and friends have been directly affected by campus violence. No matter which side of the debate you stand on, one has to admit it is interesting to look at how past events may have been altered with different gun laws, as well as the possible risks and prevention that provisions could cause in the future.
On April 16, 2007, a single gunman killed 32 people and injured 17 others before taking his own life on the campus of Virginia Tech. Armed with a backpack full of ammunition, Seung-Hui Cho went from classroom to classroom murdering students and teachers before the campus police finally broke down the barricade to the building he was in, and he turned the gun on himself. Although there is not a way to be sure of how something so random could have been prevented, there is also no doubt in the minds of some that it could have been stopped sooner and more innocent lives saved had there been permission to carrying handguns into the classroom. The response in regards to gun laws following the events in Virginia included “politicians in at least 25 states have considered new laws or policies designed to protect college students” (Lewis 1) within three months of the attacks. The Virginia Tech Massacre opened old wounds and created new ones, all while sparking nationwide interest and debate on how campuses deal with gun restrictions. In 2008, Arizona Senator Karen S. Johnson, following a shooting on the campus of Northern Illinois University, said that “the police, [Johnson] said, respond too slowly to such incidents and, beside, who better than the people staring down the barrel to take action?” (Archibold 1) Had there been a student or professor armed during the VTech massacre, there is a chance that the gunman could have been taken down much sooner, saving maybe even dozens of lives and preventing multiple injuries sustained during the attacks. Further supporting from 2008 were the figures on violent crimes on college campuses for the year. “There were 3,287 rapes, 60 killings, 5,026 assaults and 4,562 robberies across college campuses just in 2008…experts tell us campus crime is underreported.” (Burnett 1) Those numbers support the thinking that many self defense advocates use in believing they are at a higher risk of attack knowing that most likely someone walking around a college campus will not be armed. Also following the shooting at VTech, the “Students for Concealed Carry” was formed. Within 6 months of forming the group had chapters at 60 colleges across the nation, and today now has over 350 chapters in 46 states. In 2010 a Colorado court ruled in favor of the SCC claiming there were inconsistencies between laws enforced by the state and by campuses regarding the right to self defense. (Colorado Court of Appeals 3)