Stop defending the idea of having guns on campus
We don’t need to be scared sitting in class
In the state of Florida it’s illegal to bear arms on school campuses and there are reasons for that.
No, I don’t wish to have you carry your gun on campus. If I’m walking around I don’t want to have to worry and wonder about who’s “loaded” and who isn’t. I don’t want to have to avoid saying the wrong thing or giving off any type of “bad mojo.”
We wouldn’t be able to identify who is armed and who isn’t. That is terrifying.
Conceal and carry has been thrown around as a solution to stop school violence and shootings but it couldn’t be farther from it. Supporters of conceal and carry have been using the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting as a ‘poster child’ for the cause. They argue if the teachers at Sandy Hook had been armed that tragic day in history, then it would not have reached the magnitude it did.
Those were teachers. We are talking about students, college students. Students who are stressed about exams, who take pills to cram for exams, and binge drink with their friends for a good time. Let’s be real, a college students metal stability can vary depending on factors we can’t control.
Students who want to conceal and carry on campus draws back to the simple concept of protection. If they are walking back to their dorm or home at night, they want to feel protected. If attacked they want to know they could have the ‘upper hand’ against an attacker. We need to understand a bullet has no target. An assault can be a life or death situation, and with the addition of a gun, the possibility for mortality increases quite substantially.
Although I understand the need to feel safe and protected, having a gun with you on campus will not help with this. Imagine someone has a firearm on them is not having the best day. They went to class and ended up failing an exam they studied all night for. If the student is unstable, any event that occurs after this can cause them to push over the edge. Students who have firearms on campus can cause more harm to others, but can also cause harm to themselves.
Allowing guns on college campuses where emotions, stressful situations, and alcohol run rapid leaves a possibility for more harm that good to happen. The opportunity to conceal and carry on college campuses would provide a sense of security for individuals walking back to their places late at night, but it can quite literally mean the end of the world for some.