Every year or two, there is a school shooting in the U.S. You know the scene: Dozens killed, families broken and a campus marred by tragedy. Then there's the reaction: People say, "Oh, how sad. Something should be done."
Unfortunately, nothing seems to come of these horrible situations. Sure, people mourn the death of their family, friends, neighbors, etc., but nothing seems to be changing the fact that these events keep occurring.
While fighting fire with fire is seldom the correct action, in this case it is absolutely necessary. The answer to stopping school shootings is to have more firearms on campuses.
In 2006, the Kansas Legislature passed the Personal and Family Protection Act which allows concealed carry in Kansas with some stipulations. One of those stipulations is that you are not allowed to carry your concealed firearm in state-owned buildings, and these include campus buildings. Therefore, concealed carry is not allowed on K-State's campus.
As a person that grew up hunting and learning how to respect a firearm, I don't see why so many people think they should not be allowed on campus.
I do know that if a firearm is misused or mistreated, it can be deadly. However, part of getting a concealed carry license is attending a class that teaches you proper handling and safety measures which the applicants are later tested on. A background check is also done on every applicant.
Another part of the concealed carry course is a shooting test. If a person does not show proper and safe techniques, or are unable to demonstrate control of their firearm, they are not permitted to carry a concealed firearm.
Therefore, the people with a concealed carry license know how to safely and properly handle their firearms, and as such, should also know when it is acceptable to use them.
Allowing these safe, knowledgeable firearm handlers to carry their firearm on campus would be a great deterrent to possible school shootings. I would feel much safer from a possible attack knowing that I, or even one of my classmates, might have the knowledge to stop a dangerous situation from becoming a tragedy.
Allowing people with a concealed carry permit to carry on campus would ease the pressure on campus police in the event of a shooter on campus.
The whole idea is if someone were to walk into a classroom and start shooting, someone would be able to incapacitate that shooter. This would obviously lower the severity of the attack on innocent persons.
Opponents of concealed carry on campuses may argue that such a horrible thing would never happen on our campus. Well, I bet that is what the people of Virginia Tech and Columbine thought. We all know how well that worked out.
- Chuck Fischer is a junior in secondary education. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu
Comments
40 comments
Mark Henricks
jason, I'm informed about the five concealed carry permit holders who committed mass shootings in 2009, with a body count of 45 and many more wounded, Bear in mind, this is only the known cases. Because concealed carry permit lobbyists have arranged to keep most concealed carry permit records secret, we can't check to see if there are more. Still, let's see what these incomplete figures suggest: If there are five million concealed carry permit holders nationwide, that suggests a one per million occurrence of mass murderers. That sounds good, until you extend that to the entire American population of over-21 people, which indicates that we should have nearly 200 mass murders each year. Since that's about twice as many as actually occur, it could be concealed carry permit holders are about twice as likely to commit mass murder as the rest of us. Five is a small sample, of course, but until an example of genuine trigger-happiness comes along, that will do. Now you're better informed as well.
jason
I feel sorry for uninformed individuals, who have no point of reference, to make comments about our rights as human beings to not be able to defend ourselves and our loved ones. I have had the need to excercise my right to defend myself on one occasion. I was held up by a CRIMINAL who flashed a pistol, and luckily i had been heads up (not paraniod) enough to recognize the possible threat early enough to thwart the attack with no blood shed. ( not trigger happy ) I am a concealed liscence holder, and hope that I never have to go thru that again. However I would not hesitate to risk my life in order to preserve yours Mark even though you most likely would be able to talk down a crazed murderer who was holding you hostage with your arguments.
Your name
NRA!
Mark Henricks
Expanded concealed carry privileges cater to a small minority, between 1 percent and 2 percent, of the population who desire and demand the ability to walk around with loaded handguns under their jackets. The vast majority of the rest of us are unarmed because we want to be unarmed and we don't see any need for being armed. If you live in a very dangerous neighborhood, where violent crimes are commonplace, if you have a high-risk job such as driving around to convenience stores collecting money from their registers (or dealing illegal drugs, perhaps), or if you inhabit a demographic that experiences a high rate of violent crime such as a young black inner-city male, then it arguably makes sense to exercise the privilege of hiding a pistol in your pocket in public. The typical concealed carry permit holder, however, is a middle-aged white man who lives in the suburbs and works in an office or similarly low-risk environment. Thus the ones who insist on going secretly armed among the unarmed rest of us are among those least likely to require a hidden pistol for self-defense. Yes, it's easy to concoct scenarios when possession of a concealed firearm would save your live and perhaps the lives of others. And such scenarios do occur, as you will easily see if you visit the news section of the NRA/s or any gun-advocating organization's website. These organizations do not, however, collect and disseminate reports of concealed carry permit holders who murder, commit suicide or negligently permit fatal firearms accidents to occur. In fact, they actively suppress these reports, by making it impossible in most states to see the records of permit holders. Yet such events do occur, and occur regularly. Hasan is just the latest horrific example. And is it really surprising that people who feel that the best, perhaps the only, self-defense tool is a concealed pistol? To a considerable degree, such people are, by definition, trigger-happy, tending to look first to the use of a gun as a solution to a feeling of being threatened. As far as claiming that warning shots or merely brandishing a gun is equally effective and far more likely to occur than actually shooting to kill, then why not carry a starter pistol or a realistic-looking but harmless replica of a gun? Nope. That won't do. Some people, for reasons that I may never fully grasp, only feel comfortable when they have a Sig Sauer in .380 ACP snugged in their armpit in a quick-draw kydex holster when they go out to get groceries, pick up the dog from the vet or drop their kids at a birthday party. Are they cowards? Maybe. Gun-hugging loonies? Arguable. Paranoiacs? Statistically challenged? All are possible. One fact remains certain: No private citizen without law enforcement background has ever used a legally concealed weapon to stop a mass murder in progress, that is, after two or more people have been killed. With something like 5 million concealed carry permit holders in the country, and at least four mass murders by concealed carry permit holders this year alone, that's something to think about.
?
Mark,The points you make are very valid. I understand your viewpoint on this controversial topic. The point I'm trying to make is that violent people commit violent crimes and prey on the innocent. I understand that alternatives for self protection such as mace could be used. The fact is that honest people are harmed day after day because criminals don't obey the law to which honest people are held. It is much harder for a citizen to obtain a gun legally than it is for a criminal to buy one illegally. I'm from Garden City where random acts of violence such as gang beatings, assault, battery, rape and murder have become more common through the years that people are not even shocked by them. That is Garden City, Kansas just about 4 hours from Manhattan. My father was law enforcement for 17 years so I heard these stories first hand. Why don't these people suffering from these crimes have the right to protect themselves. I mean if they could crimes like these would not occur. The criminals have and forever will prey on the innocent. When will it be okay for innocent to start protecting themselves. I'm not saying go out and shoot everyone who approaches someone in a violent manner but a warning shot would sure make a criminal think a lot harder before pursuing an innocent person. A famous quote that must be taken into consideration is "The pen is mightier than the sword but it is always handy to have a sword around for when the pen fails". You speak of cases where people with concealed carry licenses committed murder. The underlying question that may never be answered is would they have committed murder even without the license.
Mark Henricks
?: Logic doesn't necessarily apply here, at least not that particular logic. Numerous studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals have concluded that expanding the privilege of carrying hidden, loaded weapons does not reduce violent crime. Allowing people to secrete pistols under their coats in public pleases those people and makes them feel more secure, but it does not serve a public safety purpose.
?
Look at this way. Would a rapist be more inclined to rape women or less inclined to rape women who possessed a concealed weapon legally. I'm no woman but I believe that if more people signed up for concealed permits we would possibly see a decline in violent crimes against men and women.
Mark Henricks
Kabul: Thanks for the Constitutional reference. However, all the rights in the Bill of Rights are infringed, even my favorite, free speech. The right to bear arms is very much infringed in ways I suspect you would support. For instance, I doubt you support a private citizen's right to bring a hidden, loaded pistol to an audience with the President. Similarly, you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater and claim First Amendment protection, as was famously said. You might also consider that the alleged Fort Hood shooter, Hasan, had been issued a Virginia concealed carry permit, making him the fourth or fifth (I can't recall exactly at the moment) mass murderer just this year to have a concealed carry permit. There may be more of them. The records are usually secret and reporters rarely ask whether a killer had a concealed carry permit, a failure that may also constitute silly, freakish, dangerous, deadly craziness. My privates are in good shape, thanks for your concern. And I don't need to secrete a loaded handgun on my person to keep them that way.
Chubby Survivalist
I'm a recent concealed carrier here in Kansas. First, I'd like to clarify something. Some people misunderstand the 8 hour class as being all-inclusive. You can't walk into the class having never shot a gun before. A couple of older ladies in my class did that. They failed the shooting proficiency test, and thus failed the class. There is no shooting practice in the class itself - not even warm-up shots. You have to walk into that class able to accurately handle, load, and fire your weapon. And *safely*. Handling your gun in an unsafe manner is automatic disqualification, even if you pass the shooting test.Second, I'd like to share an interesting change of mindset that I didn't expect when becoming a concealed carrier. A week after getting my license, I was involved in a car accident. The other person involved was rude and condescending. I was driving a domestic minivan with its share of scratches and nicks, while she was driving a luxury sedan. She went so far as to block my vehicle into the space I'd parked, apparently considering me a "flight risk". She also refused to give me her insurance info, and was generally rude. I made an extra effort to be polite.All this time, I was carrying a handgun. I'm sure her attitude might have softened if she'd had any inkling. Through all of this, having the gun actually helped my disposition. This woman could act as tough as she wanted. Like when you let a child beat you at checkers. You don't have to display force when you possess it, even if that other person never knows. I think if carrying became more commonplace, we'd all think twice about the respect we show to strangers. The lady I mentioned was never in any danger from me, but I'm guessing she would have been more respectful if she'd known.
Larry
I think that if we are aloud to carry a concealed weapon that we should be able to take it anywhere we want to just like a police officer after all the state has check us out and gave us a permit to carry that gun and if they give us that permit then we are't any different than the police.
Kabul
Mr. Hendricks,Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."Yup. Exactly the same today as the day it was ratified 218 years ago. Just a side note, how do you think it would have gone down in the Soldier Readiness Center at Ft. Hood two days ago if just ONE of those Soldiers in that room had a weapon on them? Instead, it took 4 minutes for the armed police officer to get there and kill him. "silly, freakish, dangerous, deadly craziness?" These crazy people are among us, stick your head in the sand and pretend they arent there if you like. In addition, I hope you got a reasonable rate from the physician who removed your balls. That just happened.
Mark Henricks
People who insist on exercising the privilege to carry hidden firearms among their unarmed fellows are unusually paranoid. Can there be any argument? The vast majority of us do not demand to carry pistols concealed in our pockets. Those who do constitute a tiny minority, approximately 1 percent. In addition, concealed carry permit holders are, by definition, trigger-happy. Don't believe it? Ask a concealed carry permit holder whether he or she carries any other protection device such as mace, pepper spray, alarm whistle, etc., in environments where hidden pistols are prohibited. Never, in all my conversations with concealed carry permit holders, have I encountered one who carries any other self-defense than a loaded, concealed pistol. My personal conclusion is that these are people who have an unusual attachment to a particular instrument of death. and who have perverted and distorted constitutional law to allow them to indulge their silly, freakish, dangerous, deadly craziness.
Your name
You sound more paranoid than any "gun nut" with your irrational fears that something will happen to you because of Law abiding CC permit holders.Talk about Irony.
Gun nuts are paranoid.
Dear "Come now" - I don't think any non-cop who carries a gun with them everywhere they go is trustworthy, regardless of whether they are on campus or not. I think they are P-A-R-A-N-O-I-D. This is Manhattan, Kansas, not Manhattan, NY. If you're so scared of everything that you feel the need to carry a weapon with you everywhere you go, you need to move into a padded cell.
Disappointed
This isn't the OK Corral, farm boy. The last thing we need is civilians shooting it out and innocent bystanders getting hurt. And do you really think you could shoot straight in those heightened circumstances? There's a big difference between shooting a deer and shooting a human being. You best leave these things to the cops and soldiers - people who've had REAL training in shooting a firearm and who understand the gravity of their actions.
Your name
you. are. dumb.
Your name
. The moment guns would be allowed on campus there would be fights that break out into shooting deaths. This is school not a gun show. Guns don't promote peace, they promote bullet holes in the wall and screams, I've seen it and heard it. Just because you enjoy hunting doesn't mean you should be able to bring it to campus. Leave it to the fields and the animals, not for upping the score.
Mike
Honest citizens obey the law. Criminals disregard the law regardless of its intent or severity (this is a generalization, but leads to my point).In this case, a ban on concealed carry on college campuses does nothing but prevent law-abiding, safe citizens from protecting themselves on campus. There isn't a group of gun-wielding psychopaths patiently waiting for the campus ban to be lifted, so they can then proceed with an on-campus massacre.
Your name
The last three people make very good arguments for forced sterilization of those who make terrible arguments.
Mark Henricks
It absolutely is true that concealed carry permit holders often commit gun crimes. Just go to Google News and search for "shooting" and "concealed carry." Or just look at any of the countless news reports about George Sodini, a Pennsylvania concealed carry permit holder who a few months ago used his concealed pistols to shoot kill five, including himself.
