Topic: Gun Control
Self Defense
Questioning why students are unable to carry a weapon on a college campus.
by Republic Writer
(libertarian)
Sunday, December 9, 2007
We all have the right to defend ourselves. Except for the extreme pacifist this right is recognized as ingrained in us, it does not need to be defined within laws (though it is), we are simply justified to use force to preserve our own life. Many, like me, feel this right includes the right to bear arms. Lets be realistic, people own guns. Some of these people are bad and because of this it is necessary to allow good people to own guns as well. Even if it were not necessary it would still be within our human rights to own the means of protecting ourselves. Not everyone is created physically equal and a firearm can become a great equalizer. A 100 lb woman with a Springfield XD .40 has a way to defend herself from a physically superior 200 lb, 6'00" man. Weapons are not bad, but some people who use them are bad.
So when can the government legitimately remove our ability to defend ourself? Legally they can do it almost anytime but morally the only time anyone should be able to remove your ability to defend yourself is when they can guarantee your safety. Honestly though, it is rare that the government can guarantee our safety yet we are forbidden from carrying firearms in many locations. One of those locations (at least in my home state) is college campuses. Why can I not carry a weapon at my school? I have extensive firearm training, I have completed a concealed weapons class, I have a concealed weapons permit and I have my own pistol that I can easily carry concealed so as to not disrupt or intimidate anyone. So the question remains, why can't I carry my weapon on campus?
The government apparently feels that the school and local law enforcement can guarantee my safety. Life has taught us otherwise. We continue to have school shootings where deranged people are able to take advantage of a proverbial "fish in a barrel" situation. Just imagine if one student was able to fight back at Virginia Tech or one teacher at Columbine could carry a weapon. Imagine that lives that would be saved if the government would allow us to fight fair. My school has over 100 buildings in an urban environment, we are only 6 miles from the 20th most violent city in the nation... yet I am legally not allowed to carry a weapon to defend myself and other students. My campus has public safety, but unless we can get an armed officer for every building on campus then my safety is still in jeopardy. This kind of risk could easily be avoided if we were simply allowed our constitutional right to carry a weapon for self defense.
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Published: Sunday, December 9, 2007
Last modified: Sunday, December 9, 2007
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Sam
Date: 2007-12-31 13:39:39
But if guns weren't allowed at all, we wouldn't need to carry guns to defend ourselves. If guns weren't allowed, the Columbine and Virginia Tech incidents would not have happened. Guns are a self-building crisis. Violence leads to more violence. Allowing students to carry around guns on campus would be a great risk; someone could accidentally set his or her gun off, or another student could simply pull out his or her gun and shoot a couple people before they had time to react.
This problem would be solved if guns weren't allowed in the first place. Take away the criminals' guns, and you take away the need for more guns.
Additionally, a gun-filled classroom would probably create a frightened and uneasy environment. Just imagine if someone gave you a mean look--I'd be scared because I'd know he could easily pull out his gun and shoot me.
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Posted By: Peter
Date: 2008-01-01 09:27:25
In a utopia that might be true, but we don't live in a utopia. Realistically it is impossible to remove guns from society, and even if we could it would likely breed more problems then it solves (or at least different ones). I think the point of this article is that there are fundamental flaws with our current system and something needs to change, whether that is arming teachers or allowing students to carry concealed weapons, somehow students need to be able to protect themselves. Unfortunatly we will rarely be able to prevent tragedies like VT but we can take measures to react more efficiently and save more lives. Preventing law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves only creates more victims.
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