Carrying of handguns should be allowed on college campuses

Carrying of handguns should be allowed on college campuses

There are numerous current issues taking place in the United States as well as overseas, which makes it hard to make decisions on whether carrying handguns ought to be allowed among college students. The issue of handguns is quite controversial and affects the majority of college campuses. The discourse on the right to be armed, especially among college campuses, has been ongoing since the approvement of the second amendment. Opponents on the right of college students being armed believe it is only the military which should be allowed to carry arms. Enabling college students to carry handguns offers them protection from outsiders as well as protects students abroad. Furthermore, there has been a mishap in which the military has failed to adequately protect all citizens, particularly campus students, considering the recent cases of campus shootings. All the same, the debate has both sides. However, campus students should be allowed to carry handguns since they should have the ability to defend themselves along with their property at all times at their time on campus. Therefore, in as much as people tend to use handguns to kill people and destroy property, campus students should be given the individual right to defend themselves and own firearms.

School shootings have significantly changed the history of America over the past decades. Between 1997 and 2007, over 40 school shootings have taken place, which has resulted in almost 70 deaths, along with many other injuries (Hannaford, 2016). There has also been a dramatic increase in school shoot-outs in the past decades. Furthermore, there have been no boundaries with regard to the age of children or the number of people who end up dead or injured in such melees. As a result of the dramatic increase in the number of school shootings, there arises the need for campuses to be armed where students could be armed to help avert such incidences. Although a school environment with handguns in the hands of students might not be a good one for children, it is much better than risking the safety of the entire campus considering the increase in rampage shootings. Incrementally, campus students are no longer children since their ages range from 17 to around mid-20s. As such, the students have knowledge about the consequences related to using firearms and have also attained the required maturity to make appropriate decisions. Therefore, universities and colleges would be much safer for both teachers and students in the case that handguns are allowed for the purpose of self-defense.

Firearms, together with the freedom to carry handguns, have tremendous benefits, and every campus students have the right to own and carry them. It is common knowledge that there can not be freedom when firearms cannot be used to protect the freedom. Respect has its foundation at home, that is for life, for the person and firearms as well. The choice should be made entirely free with regard to taking responsibility and a large part of it (Reimal et al., 2019). Therefore, it is factual that although firearms are mostly used for negative reasons such as killing people, individuals should be given the right to own firearms so that they are to defend themselves from danger. Furthermore, it is important to note a person only has one life thus should have the right t defend their single life in every possible way.

Nonetheless, handguns should be allowed for hidden carry on campuses in the case where the carriers have licenses that are concealed-carry since mass shootings tend to occur in zones without guns mostly. In the past, there have been a number of instances where attackers were disarmed by concealed-carry holders. Incremental, concealed-carry holders have proved to be awesomely law-abiding citizens. Therefore, concealed-carry holders in university and colleges can be given the right to own handguns where they can efficiently serve to protect other students and teachers in case of a mass shooting (Reimal et al., 2019). These individuals have proved to be the most suitable alternative since law enforcement officers may be a delay to reach the site of the shooting causing adverse consequences, including loss of more lives. The latter could be avoided by arming or allowing colleges and campuses to carry handguns to school due to their reliability.

Universities and colleges occupy a unique position in American society. They are a special place more than a collection of individuals and a series of buildings. Rather, colleges and universities are a dynamic learning and living environment where individuals have varying degrees of maturity. The individuals in these institutions regularly interact under stressful conditions. While identifying the right of liable individuals to own firearms under some circumstances, a university campus has unique characteristics that make problematic the presence of handguns. The shootings which have taken place in recent times at United States universities and colleges have created a passionate debate concerning the most appropriate way of preventing such violence as well as whether individuals ought to be permitted to carry handguns on campuses. Opponents of the discussion on allowing handguns in campus believe there lacks sufficient evidence to prove that staff and students carrying handguns would help to mitigate crime (Thompson et al., 2013a). Typically, there has been research which has revealed that the brains of campus students have only partially developed in relation to judgment and impulse control. Therefore, opponents believe allowing campuses students to carry handguns would be highly detrimental as it would cause an increase in violent crime, accidental discharge situations, and distraction in the academic environment. The tragic incidents which have occurred in the past years concerning school shootings have made policymakers, citizens, and campus officials considering the means to prevent attacks in the future through feasible solutions.

Regardless of all the positive feedback from the public about the benefits of handguns on campus, opponents still consider it dangerous. Opponents believe handguns should not be permitted on campuses since students are partially matured and are also under the influence hence may adversely affect the learning atmosphere. By the time students start college, opponents assert that they are barely fully developed. The majority of college students, actually more than half, tend to start campus at a premature age in a bid to finish schooling early enough. The latter sparks a more prominent issue since college students have an age level of fifteen to seventeen years. As such, they could be regarded victims and engage in dangerous situations. However, 21-year-olds possessing a valid license can carry guns and may hand over these guns to minors and end up causing accidents (Thompson et al., 2013b). Therefore, they cannot be trusted with handling such a deadly weapon considering a small mistake or mishap may lead to quite severe consequences, including unintended fatalities. Opponents believe college students have all experienced a lower maturity level. Therefore, they lack the required level of maturity necessary to handle a firearm compared to their older peers.

In sum, as a nation, there is a need to realize where the problem lies, not in the firearms but the people. In an effort to eliminate mass shootings on campuses, as a society, enough measures need to be put in place to get rid of violence in society as a whole. There is a need to include the entire school community if need be in participating in eliminating violence. The latter could be achieved by providing anger outlets and counseling to students, as well as creating a community which harbors acceptance and unity; violence can be minimized. Consequently, the above measure would help to reduce the fear of arming students and teachers in colleges and universities that they could use them wrongfully. Meanwhile, schools have implemented a number of measures meant to maximize the safety of students in case of a shooting. Majority of schools have a system of emergency alert which can be utilized to spread information to other students within a short period. All the same, allowing students to carry handguns to campus would be more efficient since such alert systems tend to fail on some occasions. Furthermore, the presence of these systems has not reduced mass shootings in universities and colleges in the past hence the need to permit students to carry handguns to protect themselves. Amid all the demerits associated with taking of handguns to campuses, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages to a greater extent.

References

Emily Reimal, Sino Esthappan, Paige S. Thompson, and Jahnavi Jagannath. (August 2019).          Guns on College Campuses, Urban Institute. Retrieved from:             https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/100963/guns_on_college_campuses   _1.pdf

Hannaford, A. (September 2016). Should students be allowed to carry guns at university? Special            report into Texas’s new, most controversial law, The Telegraph. Retrieved from:             https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/30/should-students-be-allowed-to-carry-guns- at-university-special-r/

Thompson, A., Price, J. H., Dake, J. A., Teeple, K., Bassler, S., Khubchandani, J., … & Aduroja, A. (2013). Student perceptions and practices regarding carrying concealed handguns on           university campuses. Journal of American college health, 61(5), 243-253.a

Thompson, A., Price, J. H., Dake, J., & Teeple, K. (2013). Faculty perceptions and practices          regarding carrying concealed handguns on university campuses. Journal of community             health, 38(2), 366-373.b