Students across the state of Georgia are awaiting Gov. Nathan Deal’s decision to pass or veto House Bill 859, which, if passed, will allow licensed students to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. In the month of March, members of the Georgia State legislature decided in the midst of current unrest surrounding mass shootings on many secondary school, college, and university campuses across the nation, to pass an extension on gun rights allowing for concealed carry on public campuses. Faculty and students are complexed by this issue and the idea of sitting next to a lay-person with a firearm on their hip, yet according to the National Conference of State Legislatures states like, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin already have similar laws like Georgia’s House Bill 859.
According to TIME, in those states in which guns are allowed to be openly carried on campus, last year alone seven campus shootings were experienced altogether. After three previous campus shootings early last year, the state of Texas passed its own comprehensive gun legislation in October 2015. Just like Texas, Georgia is about to pass a law that will extend gun rights to individuals on public campuses after there was two heavily reported campus shootings in the state. One shooting took place at the University of Georgia and the other at the campus of Savannah State University. I conducted a questionnaire asking students across the state about their reaction to this controversial legislation; inquiring how they felt about guns on campus and if they would carry a concealed weapon on the college campus when legal.
“Are guns themselves bad? No, but they can cause bad things to happen. People shoot people. And, as seen from past experiences, such as the February shooting in Kalamazoo, people with guns are not necessarily mentally stable, they may not have been subjected to a background check and or to proper safety procedures, and are not automatically trained in the handling of their weapon. If anything campuses should add more officers and other emergency phones,”said University of West Georgia student Alliyah Simone.
Pro-gun student from Middle Georgia State University, Jeffrey P. Griffith stated, “I would personally like guns on campus. With as many larger campus shootings as our country has had I’d want to be able to protect not only myself but also my classmates.... I would feel comfortable with others bringing their guns too. If would be criminals knew that campus were no longer easy prey.
Another student, Jordan Lockett who attends Georgia State University expressed that, “ In an age where even people who are routinely trained and re-trained to handle guns encounter situations where they accidentally and sometimes purposely shoot innocent people, why should we contribute to the idea that an untrained civilian should have the ability to react effectively with a deadly weapon in a moment's notice during a high-stress situation?”
Gordon State College student Darrin Walker stated, “I don’t think many students and Professors alike would feel safe. A few of my Professors expressed they would not feel safer around grading times.”
I ask, should untrained and unfamiliar individuals have the power and self-authority to react to a situation that even professionals regularly botch? Will that person have the ability, skill, and training needed to shoot a gun in a high-stress situation and even if he/she does, does that make it acceptable for every student and professor to protect others because they believe in themselves and their own skills? With the researched evidence above hopefully the point that guns on campuses don't stop the problem, they may just contribute to the problem. Now, it's all up to Gov. Nathan Deal, who has the power with the swipe of his pen can sign the measure into law preferably before May 3rd, permanently altering the perspective and actions taken on public campuses in Georgia.
