Texas Republican Gov.
Rick Perry, who carries a
gun while he jogs, is in
favor of having a bill passed
that allows students and
professors to carry a concealed
weapon on college
campuses. Carriers would
have to be 21 years old, or
older, and have a state
license.
Most college students are
20 to 24 years old. In 2007,
2,772 people were killed by
a firearm in the 20-24 age
groups, which was, the
largest number of people in
any group, and 1,270 people
committed suicide in the
same age group, ranking
sixth. And the largest number
of suicides is in the 40-
54 age groups. As on any
college campus, testosterone
levels rise and fights
break out. Young men and
women fall in and out of
love, and hearts are broken.
And when life becomes a
battle, no matter what age,
some do not know how to
cope.
Many Texas officials feel
that horrific events, such as
the Virginia Tech shooting
in 2007, are perfect examples
as to why guns should
be allowed. They say that if
a professor or student had a
gun on them, they could
have taken the gunman
down, and the number of
innocent lives taken
could have been
reduced.
In 2009, the Senate
passed a similar bill
permitting guns on college
campuses in Texas.
Currently, Arizona,
Tennessee, Michigan,
Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Florida,
Nebraska and
Mississippi, also have
legislation that would
permit firearms on campus
underway.
But if shootings are
happening when students
are not permitted
to have guns on campus,
what will happen
when they are permitted?
On any college
campus there are students
who are angry at a professor,
friend, or lover. When
emotions boil over, no one
knows what will happen to
those people.
As a college student, the
thought does cross your
mind every now and then
that a student could become
so distraught that they
would harm the people
around them. But if students
were able to have
weapons on them at all
times, the thought would be
racing constantly. In Texas,
where carrying a gun is as
common as carrying your
driver’s license, some are
arguing that nothing will
change.
The Texas bill would
allow students and professors
to carry concealed
weapons in the surrounding
area of the campus,
where many students
reside.
In homes with guns,
members of the house are
just about three times as
likely to be the victim of a
homicide, including accidental,
compared to gunfree
homes. Suicide rates
are also likely to increase. A
household with a firearm
raises the risk of suicide
with a firearm by a factor of
1:7, and an overall risk
of suicide by a factor of
3:5.
But the number of
college shootings,
although traumatic, is
still relatively low. So
would releasing gun
bans be helpful or
detrimental to the situation?
Handguns are
used four out of five
times in a shooting.
The fact that people
feel the need to carry
guns in public is outrageous.
If no one carried
a gun, there
wouldn’t be gun violence.
Our
Constitution states that
we have the right to
keep and bear arms.
But this is not necessary
in 2011 on a college
campus. Students do not
want to see conflict, or violence
rise, but instead peace
and understanding between
all.