Concealed+Carrying+on+College+Campuses

Home politics  In America, we face greater risks of death by suicide or homicide than other countries by far. College campuses are where many different types of people come together especially on a campus like Georgia State University. In a place with so many young citizens the laws on carrying a weapon are very sketchy. The United States have abnormally high homicide and gun ownership rates. Even in the wake of dangerous mass shootings and killings like the Las Vegas shooting. With this knowledge and information why would America allow guns in a place of learning? media type=youtube key=bX4qUsgHa4Y width=560 height=315 width="560" height="315"  Gun control and concealed weapons are a hot topic on college campuses across the nation right now because there are many rules and regulations that are not very conductive to the wellbeing of students and very foggy in their rules. There is a lot of research conducting the safety of guns on these campuses and dissecting the laws that allow and prevent these things from happening across the country.
 * Why Is This a Problem?**
 * Why is this important? **


 * The deciding points of concealed carrying problems**

 The boundaries of control are being pushed in general, deciding whether it is a necessary tool is essentially up to the user now. Many questions are raised on the boundaries of the constitution with the right to bear arms being used as the primary excuse for guns now. 3  Many states are expanding and reviewing new laws for guns and gun control because of the various attitudes that are facing this topic.  Many people fear firearms and don’t feel comfortable with their presence around them. Especially students because the backgrounds of people are unknown on a college campus. “ So far, four states have passed legislation permitting the carrying of concealed handguns on university campuses and several other states are considering such legislation.” 2  People feel more threatened with guns at a college campus because of various circumstances like parties and drinking. That causes there to be more external problems that could lead to a possible incident happening with a gun. 1

**The Danger of Firearms**  The role firearms play in violence raises the risks of bad things to happen dramatically. On a college campus, this violence is especially dangerous. With more accessibility and access that youth and children have because of their parents to a gun it makes suicide a much more real and easy possibility. They do not have to worry about how the suicide will take place which is making one of the most difficult things about suicide much easier. Young people are the group at the most risk for suicide. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds.

 The accessibility to guns and other weapons is easier now than ever before simply because there are so many ways to obtain them. “The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) of students in grades 9 through 12 as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that “nationwide, 18.0% of students had carried a weapon (e.g., a gun, knife, or club) on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey” and “5.2% of students had carried a gun on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey”.” 4

The concealed carry laws and their looseness, is a restriction of academic freedom for the students. If it is known that a student has a weapon, other students and even professors could be scared to fully go after their education in fears of offending the student with a gun. “ Requiring the allowance of firearms in classrooms and academic buildings will have a chilling effect on academic speech in many different ways, including students’ in-class expression, professor and student engagement, professor and professor interaction, and administrator and professor relations.” 5 There are even examples and instances where a student upset about their grade have resorted to violence because of it.
 * Why does this matter? **

 These laws are held up by people demanding that they be given their unalienable rights to bear arms like their forefathers in the constitution. But at the time the constitution was written the firepower that they had accessible to them was much more basic, usually 1 round per minute pistols that were hard to use and only the upper class had access to. Also, these laws should not apply in any way to students on a college campus If we had what we have now in America I believe that even the writers of the constitution would reconsider that being an amendment.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Who is against it? **



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> With all that goes on in our world today many people would prefer something that they are paying for to be guaranteed safe. This holds true in college as well because the overwhelming majority of students and professors would prefer guns to not be allowed on campus. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “finding in a scientific study that 95% of 401 college and university presidents randomly surveyed were unsupportive of the idea of students, faculty, and visitors carrying concealed firearms on campus, and that “most faculty (92%) and students (89%) would feel unsafe if faculty, students, and visitors carried concealed handguns on campus” 5
 * College should be safe.**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. Miller, M, et al. "Guns and Gun Threats at College." //Journal of American College Health//, vol. 51, no. 2, Sept. 2002, pp. 57-65. EBSCO//host//, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=106818167&site=eds-live&scope=site.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Thompson, Amy, et al. "Faculty Perceptions and Practices Regarding Carrying Concealed Handguns on University Campuses." //Journal of Community Health//, vol. 38, no. 2, Apr. 2013, pp. 366-373. EBSCO//host//, doi:10.1007/s10900-012-9626-0.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. Blocher, Joseph and Darrell A. H. Miller. "What Is Gun Control? Direct Burdens, Incidental Burdens, and the Boundaries of the Second Amendment." //University of Chicago Law Review//, vol. 83, no. 1, Winter2016, pp. 295-355. EBSCO//host//, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=114160392&site=eds-live&scope=site.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. Fennell, R. "Concealed Carry Weapon Permits: A Second Amendment Right or a Recipe for Disaster on Our Nation's Campuses?." Journal of American College Health, vol. 58, no. 2, Sep/Oct2009, pp. 99-100. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/07448480903340338.

<span style="color: #262626; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. Lewis, Shaundra K. "Crossfire on Compulsory Campus Carry Laws: When the First and Second Amendments Collide." //Iowa Law Review//, vol. 102, no. 5, July 2017, pp. 2109-2144. EBSCO//host//, ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=124842616&site=eds-live&scope=site.

<span style="color: #262626; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4qUsgHa4Y

<span style="color: #262626; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=4zoOztmx&id=1D2AFA126ADE38BF435BC909F64CD722FB2C3626&thid=OIP.4zoOztmxwv9ddskxUEM53gEsEU&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fthedailyblog.co.nz%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f04%2fRight-to-bear-arms.jpg&exph=497&expw=540&q=the+right+to+bear+arms&simid=608002190893646497&selectedIndex=0

8. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=6eTM1tgN&id=2F35D006BDBDE8DFB5BA843C63D678FE4C0FE97B&thid=OIP.6eTM1tgN6rj7JRw5EMhwFAEpEs&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fpepperdine-graphic.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2016%2f10%2fgun-laws-3.jpg&exph=353&expw=350&q=gun+laws&simid=608010308367550549&selectedIndex=3

9. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=4DdqEuV9&id=1DBE92057F9D59FAED4590ACE7453F137BFC049E&thid=OIP.4DdqEuV9KRi1XykMyP8K_wEsDh&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.gannett-cdn.com%2f-mm-%2fac1394dbdcca6a36cbf486633b129cd813095ac3%2fr%3dx404%26c%3d534x401%2flocal%2f-%2fmedia%2fUSATODAY%2fUSATODAY%2f2012%2f09%2f27%2fstudent-4_3.jpg&exph=401&expw=534&q=college+students+carrying+concealed+weapons&simid=608032552015692897&selectedIndex=0