Campus Carry: The Texas Legislature enacted a statute whereby Texas public universities were allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus effective 8 /1/2016. This law is known as campus carry. There was much controversy over this bill. The debate centered around two main issues: The right to carry arms (2nd Amendment). The reasoning was that people should be able to protect themselves in the event of an active shooter on campus. Most universities were against this bill because they felt very strongly that institutions of higher education are learning environments where students should feel “safe.” The carrying of weapons would not lead to the feeling of safety for some students. Please review the following campus carry link for this university. http://campuscarry.tamucc.edu/
Respond (2 paragraphs) to both of discussions below either agree or disagree with the points of views regarding gun campus carry with clarifying and explaining why and how.
Eric: The right to bear arms and the right to carry them around on campus is a very controversial topic. I believe that everyone should have the right to own a gun if they so choose to. Though, I also believe that even though there is a benefit from carrying on campus, its not a major one. There could be arguments made that it would stop the shooter, but there are also plenty of other non-lethal ways to take down an active shooter. Some of these ways could include, tasers, pepper spray, or in a very last resort, fight the active shooter yourself.I can understand the adversity to campus carry by some of the universities. Having the students feel safe and protected on their campus is a very important factor. The knowledge that other students could potentially be carrying a weapon underneath their clothes or in their bags, can be cause an uneasy feeling in some people. At the same time, a large majority of the time, the thought never really crosses people’s minds that often. They usually have more important things to worry about currently, like an upcoming test, or getting to work/class on time. It benefits those who carry, giving them a piece of mind, and though it may cause others to feel uneasy, most don’t even think about it on a day to day basis.
Cait: In response to the reasoning that people should be able to protect themselves in the event of an active shooter is justifiable. In recent years the number of active shooters on educational institutions has increased and become a national concern. I feel that if the gun handler is properly licensed and qualified to possess such an item should be allowed to carry it on their person if properly concealed. It’s important to recognize both the positive and negative concerns relating to this issue. I think the campus Carry Regulation is a positive regulation that will help to deter and deflect any possible or active shooters on campus if there are gun handlers present. With the proper certification and training a gun handler could quickly prevent an active shooters motives and avoid a tragedy from occurring. I disagree with the statement that the carrying of weapons would lead to students feeling unsafe in the learning environments because the weapon would be concealed. Therefore, students would not be made aware of the weapon being there because it would not be visible to the eye. It’s similar of the campus saying that pocketknives are not allowed because it could be considered a carried weapon. Someone could still do damage with a pocketknife just as well as they could with a gun. A knife might not be able to cause as much damage as a gun but it’s still considered a weapon and dangerous to have on a campus unless properly concealed. Anyone could misuse a weapon negatively, which is why it’s important that weapons require certification and a gun handler must meet federal qualifications in order to posses a handgun.