...Texas Campus Carry Texas Campus Carry has been a major topic of debate as of late. Many of those who support Campus Carry believe that concealed handguns allow licensed adults to defend themselves and protect others in the event of a crisis. These supporters believe gun laws only restrict law abiding citizens from their 2nd amendment rights with minimal effect on criminal gun owners. However; many anti-gun activists believe that more guns are not the answer to a gun problem and a Campus Carry law may increase accidental discharges, violence, as well as youth suicides. The University of Texas massacre fifty years ago is a prime example of this heated issue on both sides of the gun debate. On August 1, 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman climbed the University of Texas Tower, in Austin, and in a span of 96 minutes fired 150 high-powered rounds of ammunition down into unsuspecting university students and faculty. Those nearby heard "strange noises" and thought nothing of it until they saw the bodies and blood on the sidewalks. The shooter killed and wounded nearly 50 people that day (Lavergne). A similar occurrence happened on a Monday morning April 2007, on the campus of Virginia...
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...Reasons to Avoid Shooting Tragedy in Campus Gun is the most dangerous weapon in the entire world, and it causes a lot of people into bloody tragedy when someone is killed. Gun is the weapon tote by officer policemen and usually at war used by soldiers all around the world. As soon as I discuss gun with friends, everybody has the same voice that the Unites States is a value freedom and democracy country. As we known that the law of the Unites States allow citizens have right to tote a gun at home, which means that it protects us in the proper situation, but the law not allow citizens to tote gun wherever they go. However, gun is not a common weapon permitted it to used or tote by citizens at the others counties by law policy like Asian...
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...Guns on College Campus Should guns be allowed on college campus? Kenton L. McGowen Abstract This paper will determine whether guns have a place on college, and school campuses. The conclusion that the paper reaches is that students who have guns will be tempted to use them, especially at universities and colleges that are full of drug use, stress, and anxiety. The mixture of guns into a formula like that is simply not conducive to a safe environment. This paper will take evidence from experts, as well as state rulings to show the two sides of gun control in regards to school campuses in order to answer the question: Should guns be allowed on college campuses? The constitution of the United States guarantees our right to bear arms in order to defend ourselves, but where does the line fall where it is ok and not okay to carry weapons? The debate has shifted from restaurants, to stores, and now to schools. It is recently that the question has come up, should college campus students be allowed to have guns? The question is a safety issue and mostly centers around a need for the preservation of life on these campuses, and whether or not the guns are absolutely necessary to have. It has been spurred on by the recent slew of school shootings that have hit areas of the country, most notably Virginia Tech in 2006. There are valid argumentative points to both sides, however. As previously mentioned, the constitution of the United States guarantees...
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...statistics are all that this piece contains. This resource is useful since it was updated a little more than a year ago with the most recent data and continues to be updated as new stats and facts become available. It is also neutral in nature, giving just the facts and referencing both the affirmative and negative sides of the argument. 2. McEntee, Peg. “Utah Teacher Shoots Herself in Leg With Concealed Weapon.” Huffington Post 11 Sept. 2014 Web 18 Sept. 2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/teacher-shoots-self-concealed-weapon_n_5807826.html?utm_hp_ref=gun-control The Huffington Post is a news site with an entire section dedicated to news surrounding gun control, both recent and past. This article is helpful because it outlines the concealed carry laws in Utah schools, a state which has closely modeled it’s laws after Colorado’s. This article is useful because it describes some of the negative effect that concealed carry on campus has for the person carrying as well as the student population/their parents if they find out about the firearm. 3. Students for Concealed Carry. “Common Arguments Against Campus Carry.” Concealed Campus 2011-2012 Web Sept. 18 2014 http://concealedcampus.org/common-arguments/ Students for Concealed Carry is a student run organization which advocated for legal concealed carry on campuses in the United States. This article is helpful because it outlines some of the opposing arguments that the affirmative side of our case may face, and provides...
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...Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? 1 Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? Toni Struve COM/155 University Composition and Communication I May 6, 2012 Kathleen Zurich Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? 2 Abstract This essay debates the pros and cons of allowing concealed carry weapons on campuses. Both sides have relevant information that supports their point of view. I have presented data from both sides of this issue and leave it to the reader to decide which argument they will support. Concealed Carry on Campus: Yea or Nay? 3 In the war over guns, the first casualty was the truth (Kleck, 2009). Could the results of the tragedies at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and the private college in California been lessened if concealed weapons were permitted on campuses? Studies have been conducted, but there have been no definitive results. Each side of this question can quote statistics and studies that will prove their point of view. There is no absolute answer to this question, but many people believe that the outcome may have been much different if concealed weapons were present on campus. As with every issue of this magnitude, there are two sides to this question. The debate about whether to allow concealed weapons on campus raises questions of personal safety, legality and are gun-free zones really safer. Students for Concealed Carry is a nationwide organization made up of over 43,000 students, professors...
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...Should Texas pass the law to allow college professors and students to carry handguns on campus? Imagine every person in college is walking around with the handgun in their belt. Imagine the student next to you with the handgun in his or her backpack. The same backpack should be filled with books rather than firearms in it. Imagine every one of your classmates with a handgun in the class. This might be situation of situation of legal allowance of firearms in school. It is important that Texas should not pass such a law that allow college professors and students to carry handgun on campus. First, reason why Texas should not pass a law that permit handguns on campus is that it would increase violence on campus. Shooting...
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...have taken place in college campuses (Tragic List of School Shootings Since '99). As much as we don’t want to admit it, campus shootings are most likely to happen again and they will. However, there are ways to prevent it rather than having more guns on campus. “On June 1, 2015, Gov. Greg Abbott signed S.B. 11, also known as the "campus carry" law. S.B. 11 provides that license holders may carry a concealed handgun throughout university campuses, starting Aug. 1, 2016” (Campus Carry). People are still debating whether or not allowing campus carry was the right thing to do. In most cases, it wasn’t. Allowing students, professors, and administration to be given the right of campus carry leads to more violent crimes, higher taxes, and it inhibits free speech....
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...In the past few years, America has had many problems with gun control. Many shootings have occurred causing many deaths, including children. Some have been at elementary schools, college campuses, and even at a movie theater. What makes people think that by allowing college students to have guns on their campus will help solve this problem? Instead of helping, it might make things worse. There should not be any type of weapon on college campuses. There should be more restrictions on permitting guns rather than allowing more people to have access to them. Guns on college campuses should be prohibited because it can damage people’s emotional wellbeing, cause accidents, and raise crime rates. In the Constitution, there were ten Amendments added to it which gave people certain rights and privileges. These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. It was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, and was later ratified on December 15, 1791 (Amendment II Right to Bear Arms). The second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary...
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...the people surrounding them. College campuses are supposed to be heartwarming, comfortable, and safe. Allowing firearms on campus is not a good idea; there have been many cases on gun shooting occurring on campuses. On august 1, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the University of Texas Tower with three rifles, two pistols, and sawed-off shotgun (UT Tower). Charles Whitman was a 25-year-old architectural engineering major and an ex-marine; who had already murdered his mother and his...
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...The New College Classroom – 25 Students, 12 Handguns Campus life as we know it is about to change and joining the debate team may hit an all-time low. In Texas, the change is coming on August 1, 2017, with a new law allowing students to carry concealed handguns on public University campuses. I assure you that I would feel very uncomfortable sitting in a classroom knowing that there were one, two, five or possibly ten guns in the room with me. And what if a student dropped his backpack and his gun inside accidently discharged? While this may be highly unlikely, I know that each time I saw a backpack fall to the floor, I would react a little differently than before. We have all seen the horror when a troubled person at school is wanting to make a statement by causing as much carnage as possible. Whenever a tragedy happens in this country, we want answers. If a tragedy involves young people within a school, it hits us all even harder and we demand immediate solutions. Supporters of this law state that bad guys will think twice about coming onto a campus knowing their planned attack may be cut short by students packing heat. The National Rifle Association's Executive Vice President and CEO, Wayne LaPierre, says "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." While in theory that could be true, I don't buy it. We have seen shootings at police stations, courthouses, Embassy's and many other places where everybody is aware guns are present. If there is...
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...“Gun Laws in the U.S.” “Guns don’t kill people, people do!” This slogan is used by many gun right advocates in America today. I couldn’t agree more! People kill people during the commission of crimes, in the heat of passion, or through a series of innocent, yet deadly mistakes. Gun right advocates continuously lobby the legislature into submitting bills that would allow John Q. Public to legally carry firearms onto college campuses. Firearm possession does nothing more than create a false sense of security to their owners. Nevertheless, gun right advocates believe they can make it safer and reduce crime by introducing firearms into the campus environment. This introduction is not only dangerous, but accidental discharges and other seemingly innocent misdeeds could cost you your life. First, “There’s no epidemic of campus violence,” said Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Conflict and Violence at Northeastern University in Boston (Cohen, 2007, p 1). “In fact, there are so few homicides on college campuses that you’re much safer there than you are in almost any other venue” (Cohen, 2007, p 1). Other experts agree that of all the places young adults spend their time, a college campus likely provides the largest safety net (Cohen, 2007, p 1). College campuses employ a multilayer approach into keeping campuses safe and free of crime. Communication is the key to keeping campuses safe. Most large universities use smart phone apps and emergency callboxes...
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...injured seventeen. If at the time, carrying a concealed firearm on campus was legal Seung-Hi could have been stopped before he hurt so many people.The new Bill eleven states that both the students and teachers twenty-one and older are allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus with a license. I completely support the new Bill and campus carry on because students and faculty that are qualified should have the right to...
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...Concealed weapons on campus BCOM/275 Concealed weapons on campus Concealed weapons on campus? In recent years America has been haunted by reality of horrendous school shootings such as what occurred at Virginia Tech in 2007. With this ugly reality some people are advocating for permission of concealed weapons on campus. Firearms can be used as a good form of defense against a formidable threat but would the carrying of concealed weapons on campus really make the campus safer? What if the law stated that only permitted faculty were allowed to carry weapons on campus? Some feel it’s strictly a matter of self-defense while others feel that there is no scenario where concealed weapons on campus could do anything more than create a more dangerous situation. Last year, to the dismay of some, Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that the University of Colorado’s gun ban violated the Concealed Carry Act of 2003. We as a whole must take into consideration the effects this has on students and faculty safety. In order to assure that the community within a campus feels safe we must have regulations on gun control. Proper checks and balances must be initiated to ensure that travesties of the past will not happen again. We will need the support from organizations and the public in order to apply pressure for new legislature to be written. Unfortunately, we live in a society where it takes drastic measures, sometimes, to accomplish what is needed for the overall good and safety of...
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...should be able to have guns on campus. They can be allowed to have them with the proper training and the proper certification to handle a gun. Administrators who carry guns must have and maintain a handgun license; pass a psychological evaluation; and undergo firearms and emergency response training. The administrators can be allowed to have a firearm if they wish to if they wish to go that extra mile to keep their students safe. They will not be forced to have a gun if they do not wish to. With so many school shootings that have happened though out the years, I find that it will help keep the students safe. Having a gun on school campus will not stop the school shooting from happening. It will buy some time for the police to get there and handle the situation. If the teacher need to shoot the gun, with the proper training they will receive they will be able to know where to shoot and how to shoot. In order to have a gun in class the will have to keep it locked up where they only know where it is and they are the only ones to have a key to the lock. Many states are debating whether they should allow the students and school teacher to carry a gun on school campus. Oklahoma singed a bill last year where it is now legal for teachers and staff to carry guns on public school grounds. Texas just recently passed a bill allowing guns at college. Utah, Alabama, Kansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, also signed a bill where anyone with a permit is allowed to carry a gun on school grounds. Georgia...
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...4 December 2015 Fostering a Concealed Campus In 2007 during the Virginia Tech Shooting, a boy’s best-friend’s brother was there, in one of the classrooms that the gunman targeted. He escaped but this information gave him chills. That boy’s name is Jeff. Why is it that issues don’t matter until a horrifying story has a personal connection to its readers that it causes them to fully gasp the situation? There are many alternatives to students carrying weapons on campus. Advocates for guns on campus say that it will make the environment safer, but in reality only the students and faculty can make a campus safer. If someone sees something, they should say something. Responsibility is the first method of defense, not guns. There are over 4,400 colleges and universities in the United States, the majority of these do not allow students or faculty to carry guns on campus. The states that allow students and faculty to carry firearms on college property are Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin. Only Utah and Colorado have explicit laws about allowing concealed firearms on campus, but leave the ultimate decision up to schools to decide whether to allow guns on campus or not. Twenty other states allow schools to decide on allowing guns of any type on campus. This leaves students confused where they can and cannot carry firearms across America. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education conducted a study that determined that the homicide rate at post-secondary...
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