University Student Gun Control

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University Gun Control: A Tale of Three Stories Only a few decades ago the topic of gun control on universities was non-existent. It was a given that the possession of firearms was not only allowed, but required as per the government and university legislation being that having a prepared militia at that point in time was a necessity. Given a drastic change in circumstances a century and a few decades’ later, weapons were completely prohibited from universities. In the past two decades alone catastrophic events, such as the Virginia Tech Massacre, have had a drastic influence on the policies of legislation. In aim to prevent these unfortunate events a few theories have been raised which consist of prohibiting guns, allowing firearm carry …show more content…
A proposed belief as to why the prohibition of weapons would promote a safer environment is the conclusion that the more armed students there are, the higher the potential for negative consequences (Bouffard et al.). The majority of college students range from the ages of 18-21. It is evident that through the course of four years, students are transitioning from teenagers/young adults to adults. The freedoms that become available to students as they transition from high school to college can be overwhelming and result in high-risk behaviors due to peer pressure. A study conducted by Professor Cramer discovered that in a large group of students from a University, 43% confessed to binge drinking and 63% of firearm carriers contributed to the 43% (Cramer). These statistics are rather puzzling considering students are possessing deadly weapons while they may not be in the right state of mind. Because the odds of a students or faculty member being armed at the moment of a random attack are very minimal, to anti gun advocates the negative consequences, such as “accidental shootings, suicides and various forms of criminal behavior”, outweigh the probability of a university attack (Bouffard et al.). According to two professors, its been said that a great majority of the …show more content…
In the past two decades the government has made obtaining a concealed handgun license (CHL) easier for potential carriers by transitioning to “shall issue laws”. These laws mean that a government official is required to provide a license to anyone who meets the requirement whereas before a citizen must have demonstrated a need to carry and from there, officials would determine if they received their license (Bouffard et al.). As a result, anyone who wishes to possess a firearm can and will obtain one regardless of the legislative ruling. Because there is not scientific research that can validate either theory’s information, neither position can at this point be proven to be effective. Both positions list and argue why they feel their argument is the most legit, but they are self-validated. They take a situation or piece of information and interpret it to where it best fits their argument or discussion and whatever does not is simply not acknowledged or taken account for (Birnbaum). We can conclude that because the pro and anti gun propositions are completely opposite and are such broad resolutions it is almost impossible to compromise and discuss a potential course of action that could best prevent university