Campus shooting and how Concealed Carrying Should Be Allowed On Campus

The debate over whether or not students should carry weapons on college has grown in recent years as campus shootings have increased. Some colleges, like those in Kansas, permit students to bring firearms to class, whereas other colleges do not. The majority of pupils are in favor of concealed carry, while a small minority are opposed. Since all states now have the option of granting or denying students the right to carry concealed weapons, the argument is a contentious one. This essay will debatably think about the subject before drawing a judgment. Concealed carrying has the potential to deter the acts of violence in campuses. Since the weapons will be concealed, then perpetrators will be less confident in their acts, and at the same time, the victims will suffer less harm. This would make the perpetrators abandon most of their planned activities out of the fear of attack by the victims.

Enables quick intervention

Allowing concealed weapons in campuses will give more chances to faster intervention in case of a shooting. Instead of only running for help in the event of occurrence of a shooting, the students would be able to intervene and reduce the harm before other external security parties turn up. This would help in reduction of the severity of the harm that’s normally caused by campus shooting and other criminal offenses.

Responsible students should have the right to arm themselves against criminals

Violent criminals who attack campuses at least use guns to perform their actions. Responsible students should, therefore, be allowed to carry guns to school, for them to at least have a point of defense. This would make them more secure and safe, rather than being helpless victims. Campus life involves going outside at night for some studies which endanger the lives of the students. There is, therefore, need for them to be armed. Studies have shown that 55.5% of the criminals retreat in case the victims draw a weapon.

The Constitution guarantees the right to carry concealed handguns

The second amendment of the constitution allows citizens to enjoy the right of concealed carrying since America is a free state. According to the Constitution, citizens’ right to bear handguns should not be infringed. This shows that the citizens should be allowed to bear the weapon in a concealed manner in public for the purpose of self-defense.

Most adults do not misuse the firearms

Studies have shown that most adults who bear handguns do not misuse them but only draw them when the need for self-defense arises. It’s only a small percentage who misuses them and hence they should not deny the many responsible citizens the privilege of self-defense. Studies have also shown that citizens are 5.3 times more likely to perform other violent offenses and fourteen times more likely to perform nonviolent offenses than they are likely to misuse their weapons, (Lipka, 2008). This is due to the fact that the handguns are registered and any act of misuse can be easily traced to the registered holder of the weapon.

Concealed carrying protects people who cannot rely on police protection

According to Fennell (29), the average police force response time to a crime scene is eleven minutes, with some cases taking longer than that. This claim varies depending on the geographical position. However, arguing with the eleven minutes response means that the citizens are helpless during the first eleven minutes of a violent crime, while others lose their lives due to late police force response. Concealed carrying can ensure that the students have the right to self-defense even before they receive help from the police force.

Students have rights just like everyone else

The fact that the most states admit that there is a need for the citizens to carry concealed handguns should also make them allow students to possess them. This is because just like other citizens, students have rights and are also exposed to dangers which require self-protection.

Arguments against

Campus Safety should be left in the hands of professionally qualified personnel

Campus Safety should solely be left in the hands of the well-trained security officers and not in the hands of untrained students. The fact that the students lack proper weapon handling skills makes it more dangerous for them to be in possession of them. This could also lead to more suicidal cases in campuses, (Bouffard, et al, 22).

Concealed carrying will lead to the use of more dangerous strategies by criminals

Once criminals are aware of the fact that students are in possession of handguns, they will not stop attacking them, but rather will come up with more dangerous strategies of attacking them. This would mean acquiring more dangerous weapons rather than guns, which would lead to more damage in case of attacks.

Conclusion

Having presented the above facts, this study shows that concealed carrying has its own pros and cons, just like every other practice. However, the pros outweigh the cons, and the study, therefore, concludes that concealed carrying should be allowed in universities.

Work cited

Bouffard, Jeffrey A., et al. “How many more guns? Estimating the effect of allowing licensed

concealed handguns on a college campus.” Journal of interpersonal violence 27.2 (2012): 316-343.

Fennell, Reginald. “Concealed carry weapon permits: a Second Amendment right or a recipe for

disaster on our nation’s campuses?.” (2009): 99-100.

Lipka, S. A. R. A. “Campaigns to overrule campus gun bans have failed in many

states.” Chronicle of Higher Education 54.2 (2008): A16-A18.