Should Guns Be Allowed On College Campuses?

Should Guns be allowed on college campuses?

Current Federal Law Structure and Restrictions Imposed

Background 

In the light of the recent events in the colleges and education centres of the colleges of the United States are facing high levels of threats from the attacks of gunmen. The incident of 2007 in the Virginia Tech University is one of the worst examples in the given case. The authorities in the given cases have understand the needs to change in the legislation of the federal state laws that will ease out the pressure of the carrying out concealed weapons at the college campus. Higher levels of restrictions are imposed in the matters of carrying out the guns in the educational institutes.

According to the general federal law of United States, it is possible for any citizens to carry out concealed weapons only if they meet certain requirements. These legal requirements vary according to individual sates requirements. 16 of the states California Florida, Illinois, Nebraska,  Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, , South Carolina, New Jersey and Wyoming have completely banned the carrying of the concealed weapons in the university and college campus. There are other 23 states that have given the permission to the colleges and universities for allowing the students to carry any forms of concealed weapons. One of the main reasons for allowing the usage of guns and other forms of concealed weapons is to ensure high level of personal security. This has been a major area of conflict among the federal stakeholders as the law of carrying concealed weapons are mainly restricted to the citizens. Nevertheless, the people often have the opportunity to make misuse of the same that ultimately results in the shooting incidents.

Under the given circumstance the current research project will discuss about the need of carrying guns and other concealed weapons for the students in the university campus. This will help to suggest proper recommendations of the existing federal law structure that permits the usage of guns in the university campus.

• To understand the needs and importance of carrying guns in the college campus
• To evaluate the risks of carrying guns in the college guns
• To recommend changes in the existing legal structure about the protocols of carrying guns and concealed weapons in the college campus.  

It is important to note that most of the low level of protection that is offered in the action of the of gun owners is one of the major cause for high levels of concern for the college and university students. The allowance of the gun in the university campus can have higher levels of consequences in the academic profession of the students. On the other hand, it is also important to consider the fact that with higher levels of risks that are related to the gun shooting incidents. This is one of the major consequences of the lower monitoring and restrictions that are being imposed by the public in the matters of private usages of guns. It is important to argue the fact about the usage of guns that is believed to have more risks and negative consequences due to the mis-usage that is caused due to the gun users.

Incidents of Shootings in Educational Institutes

The risks of the gun shooting incidents are more in the places, where there are little or no restrictions among the college students about the usages of the guns. The matter and the issues related to the usages of guns have been raised after the incidents of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Here, 13 people have been killed due to the shooting action of two teenagers. Hence, it can be concluded that the due to the carrying of guns, the common citizens are also at the risks besides the students of every university. In another incident of 2012, at Northern Illinois University a lone gunman killed nearly 5 people and injuring 18 others. One of the important elements in all these shooting incidents is the fact that after the crime is committed, the shooter shots them. Hence, it can be said that gunners were mentally disturbed during the time they committed the crime. It is therefore important to consider the social issues with the community that cause mental disturbances among the public as they chose to have the path of violence.

It is important to ban the usages of the gun for increasing the safety of the people in the college communities. This is also believed to be effective to deal with the mental issues that are caused among the people that are responsible for the suicidal nature of the people. High mental stress that is responsible for most of the mental stress among the students. The stress can ultimately result in the depression among the young students thereby forcing them to indulge in all forms of violent activities. As they chose the path of legal violation, it can destroy the future growth opportunity among the child as they are not able to deal with the issues of metal pressure. This is added with the issues of pressure from the society, where the students are not able to cope up the situation. The chance of a depressed students to indulge in the violent activities can ultimately rises the risks of the shooting activities in the society. This is added with the fact that most of the students have the easy access of the gun that can instigate them to express out their inner violence.

In order to focus on the matters of having guns, it is important to highlight the fact that in US most of the students stay away from their home town in crime prone areas. Hence, the use of the guns is essential for them in the matters of increasing the levels of safety. For the students especially the girls who are residing in the dormitories, the usage of gun can be a major source of safety. This is added with the fact that the campuses security guards cannot remain present everywhere and therefore, most of the students have to take in charge of their personal security. In spite of increase in the total number of gun users the rate of crimes related to the gun shooting has decreased in the past 40 years. Moreover, besides gun there are other forms of lethal objects that can also be used by the students to indulge in the violent activities. For example, there are possible lethal explosives that can be prepared by the chemistry students. Hence, the banning of the guns cannot be the only solution to eliminate the risks of criminal activities by the teenager students.

Risks Associated with Gun Carrying

Nevertheless, due to the loopholes that exist within the current legal system, it there are no much verification that are conducted before the gun license are being provided by the student. For example, it is recommended by the legal advisors to access the mental health condition of the students before they are being given official gun license. This will decrease the risk of the mentally sick students being indulge in the violent crime activities. The past medical mental health records also has to be evaluated that will help to evaluate the future risks of criminal activities.    

These changes in the legal system can bring about significant changes in the overall crime rates related to the shooting incidents in the universities and colleges. It is recommended that importance of providing high end certified trainings to the students, who are in needs of concealed weapons for their own high levels of safety. Another argument that can be provided in favour carrying the guns is college campus is the fact that it is unethical to have different set of laws for the students in the university campus. This will require spending of additional legal resources by the higher levels of the federal structure. A national group, Students for Concealed Carry has been formed to ensure that the students do not get the opportunity to make misuse of the guns as they are able to carry the concealed weapons in the university campus and hostels.

Under the given circumstances, it is essential for the future research work to focus on the strategies of the federal legal system that will help to minimize the misuse of guns by the university students.

In this section the investigators will justify research method that will be implemented for investigating the need of allowing concealed weapons in University campus and hostels. With proper execution of the Research Design it will be possible to resolve the ethical issues that are related to usage of guns by University students.

The given context, it will be useful to use interpretivism research philosophy, which mainly deals with human perception about the investigation area. In a given case, with the help of interpretivism philosophy it will be possible for the researchers to focus on perception of University students and other stakeholders about the uses of gun for safety purpose. The positivism philosophy on the other hand, will be able to justify the needs of the modification in the legal structure that is needed to deal with the controversial issue of allowing concealed weapons in the University Campus.

Pros and Cons of Allowing Guns on College Campuses

For the given case, it will be useful to implement the descriptive form of Research Design, which will help to consider both positive and negative aspect of allowing concealed weapons inside the University Campus and student hostel. It will also be possible to implement a definite set of research questions that is needed to collect proper information from the respective stakeholders.

The research strategy for the given project will mainly implement interview and survey procedures. This is the primary form of Data Collection, which will help the researchers to draw proper conclusion about the subject. In the given case, the investigators will conduct survey among at least hundred University students all across the United States. The process of the survey will be conducted in online procedures, where the identity of individual students will not be revealed. This is required for Ethical consideration and avoidance of controversy that is associated with this sensitive issue.

The researchers will also conduct interview of at least 10 University legal counsellors, which will help them to get idea about the existing legal system that are associated with allowing concealed weapons related to the debates matter of allowing guns inside the University Campus.

Conclusion (Anticipated Outcomes)

The anticipated outcomes of the current research work will include proper recommendations for modifying the existing legal structure, which allows carrying of concealed weapons by University students. It will also focus on the negative consequence of complete ban of the handguns, which can compromise on the safety level of University students depending on the crime rate at respective areas.

References 

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Jenson, Jeffrey M. "Aggression and violence in the United States: Reflections on the Virginia Tech shootings." Social Work Research 31.3 (2007): 131-134.

Morse, Andrew, et al. "Guns on campus: The architecture and momentum of state policy action." NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (2016).

Patten, Ryan, Matthew O. Thomas, and James C. Wada. "Packing heat: Attitudes regarding concealed weapons on college campuses." American Journal of Criminal Justice 38.4 (2013): 551-569.

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Schildkraut, Jaclyn, Collin M. Carr, and Victoria Terranova. "Armed and academic: Perceptions of college students on concealed carry on campus policies." Journal of School Violence (2018): 1-13.

Thompson, Amy, et al. "Reducing firearm-related violence on college campuses—Police chiefs' perceptions and practices." Journal of American College Health 58.3 (2009): 247-254.

Webster, Daniel W., et al. "Firearms on College Campuses: Research Evidence and Policy Implications." Center for Gun Policy and Research, Johns Hopkins University (2016).