Concealed Weapons in Colleges

Thesis Statement

Concealed weapons should be allowed on campus because it is in adherence to second amendment rights, and because the rules of a college should adhere to those of society, with college aged students being responsible adults.

Introduction

There has long been an urban dimension to gun use and control in the United States, especially in regard to handguns. Gun ownership, especially of rifles and shotguns, tends to be concentrated in rural areas, but handguns and assault weapons—military-appearing, semiautomatic firearms—account for much gun ownership and use in urban areas (Elliott, Hamburg & Williams, pp. 67). Since the 1960s, especially, guns have proliferated in America's inner cities, leading to a rise in gun violence of which young minority males are the chief perpetrators and victims. The title of Geoffrey Canada's 1995 memoir of growing up in New York City, Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun, recapitulates the increasing lethality of weapons used by young men in the inner city (Cook & Ludwig, pp. 78-99). Gun control initiatives in urban areas have been tied to the recent upsurges in violence in America's cities and to the increasing availability of firearms.

At the close of 2008, many of us involved with higher education breathed a sigh of relief -- however briefly -- as legislation that would allow people with concealed-weapons permits to carry guns on campuses failed to pass in 17 states. Protecting students, faculty members, and administrators from gun violence is not something that colleges should be barred from accomplishing (National Center for Education Statistics, pp. 67-79). This is why weapons should be allowed to carry in colleges.

Discussion

Weapons should be allowed but at the same time I think that colleges are the places which teach student to be pacific. College education teaches student disciplines and other good habits. Carrying concealed weapons may make students aggressive at college level (Cook & Ludwig, pp. 78-99).

College administrators have addressed public concern by implementing violence prevention programs that instruct students in social-cognitive skills such as anger management; installing zero tolerance policies that expel or suspend students for being involved in fights or for carrying a weapon to college; and heightening college security (Astor, Benbenishty and Meyer, pp. 39-49). Additionally, administrators have worked to keep students safe while simultaneously preserving the democratic freedoms of both teachers and students.

However, consistent college safety policies are not found across the United States. Although 97 percent of colleges require visitors to sign in, only 67 percent control access to the college building, and 34 percent control access to the college grounds. Only 1 percent of U.S. colleges use metal detectors, according to a National Center for Education Statistics report in 2004 (Noonan, pp. 61-65). That investigation found that activities designed to increase college safety include counseling services, behavioral intervention, community programs, hotlines, teacher professional development, random dog checks, security cameras, use of clear or mesh book bags, and drug testing. In an effort to make their colleges safer, many districts have taken great strides. Some researchers find that college crime overall has decreased significantly ...