The Truth About The 'Good Guy With A Gun'
Do more guns really provide more safety?
According to statistics posted by Everytown Research, in the past three years, 194 school shootings have been reported with 56 of them occurring on college campuses. This means that nearly 30% of school shootings happen on college campuses. In an attempt to help students feel safer, some colleges allow students to carry guns. According to Armed Campuses, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Kansas, Arkansas, and Georgia are required by law to allow guns on school grounds. While eighteen states, including Virginia, let individual schools determine if guns are allowed on campus. This means that in Virginia, college campuses are not required to permit concealed-carry guns, but they have the freedom to allow them.
In the past few weeks, there have been over three mass shootings in the United States alone. Many argue that some of these shootings could be prevented by arming citizens appropriately. So the question is, do more guns lead to more safety? Even more specifically, should colleges allow guns on campus as safety measures? As of right now, Liberty University is the only campus in Virginia that allows its students to conceal-carry on campus. But should other universities follow their example?
Truthfully, no.
College is a time of heightened emotions and stress levels and prevalent drug and alcohol usage. A 2002 study titled "Guns and Gun Threats at College" reported that the allowance of guns on campus can be linked to heavy drinking and risky and aggressive behavior. By allowing guns on campus, universities are denying students the right to feel safe in their learning environment. In 2016, Fort Hays State University conducted a study in which eighty-two percent of the faculty and fifty-five percent of the students claimed they would feel less safe on a campus with guns. Guns not only put the safety of others at risk but also the safety of the gun-holder. According to statistics gathered by the American College Health Association, 1,100 college students commit suicide each year, with guns being the most common method. Allowing students easy access to these weapons puts not only the weapon holders at risk but also the student body.
Guns are dangerous weapons when used correctly and even more so when used incorrectly. Acquiring a permit for a concealed-carry weapon in the state of Virginia, as well as twenty-three other states, requires no physical training. According to USA Carry, in these states, an online class is required with a multiple choice test at the end. No weapon handling is required to pass this test. Students who pass the background check and the multiple choice test can be carrying a weapon they do not know how to use. Even more, there are ways to get around states that require physical handling of the weapon. Twenty-eight states allow non-residents to obtain permits.
Because these tests are online, students can take them multiple times without penalty. An even more dangerous situation arises when in eight of the fifty states, no permit is required to carry concealed-carry guns. According to Armed Campuses, two of these states, Idaho and Kansas, are required by law to allow weapons on campus. Essentially, it is way too easy for students to carry guns they don't know how to use, creating a dangerous environment for colleges allowing concealed carry.
Alternatively, people claim that they feel safer having guns on campus. While the argument seems logical, the idea that the only way to stop the "bad guy with a gun" is to have more "good guys with a gun" is a common misconception. In 2016, "The Daily Show's" Jordan Klepper did a segment titled "Good Guy with a Gun" in an attempt to demonstrate the inaccuracy of the claim that more "good" people with guns will create a safer environment. Through the segment, you see that even someone who has had the training required to be able to carry a concealed-carry gun and even more extensive training is still not equipped to handle real-life shooter situations. In the simulation shown in the segment, even after his training, Jordan still doesn't know how to properly use his weapon and accidentally shoots the wrong person. Statistics from an FBI report on the "Study of the Active Shooter," revealed that one in five shooter encounters are stopped by a civilian and only three percent are stopped by an armed "good guy" because average weapon holders are not trained to react properly in crisis situations.
So, I think we can definitely say that guns prove to be more of a threat than they are a safety measure when handled by those that are not professionals. It's evident that school shootings have become a more frequent occurrence, but giving students guns will not solve this problem. With forty percent of Americans earning a degree in college, a statistic determined by PBS, this affects a large number of people both directly and indirectly. Through student petition, faculty senate, and other means, educators and students, we must stop these weapons from entering our campuses.
