More Guns = Protection or Problems?
By David Mason
posted Dec. 16, 2011
It happened again. Over 4 years after the Virginia Tech shootings, another school shooting happened at the same university. And just three weeks earlier, gun control rights were being debated on that very campus. The same campus where on April 16, 2007, Seung Hi Cho killed 32 people and wounded 25 others before taking his own life.
On November 17, 2011, two groups debated gun rights at Virginia Tech. One group argued that more guns on campus could invite more problems. Another group argued that taking away someone's right to protect themselves could invite more problems.
On December 8, 2011, a second school shooting took place taking two lives; a police officer who had stopped a vehicle on campus and a student gunman who then turned the gun on himself.
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the rights of American citizens to keep and bear arms. Yet when people hear the words “gun” and “school” in the same sentence, there is always a red flag. At universities across the nation, an issue has risen over whether or not students and faculty have the right to carry a concealed weapon should on campus.
Virginia Tech has been the home to gun debates since the 2007 school shootings. Anyone with a concealed carry permit is technically allowed to bring that weapon onto a public university campus, albeit risking being expelled or fired – but may not successfully be charged with a crime should the actions be taken.
However Virginia Tech is attempting to get a state regulation that would ban anyone from bringing a gun onto campus, and the result could change gun control on college campuses across the nation.
“Schools have policies that say they can't bring guns on campus, but the attorney general says that that doesn't cut it,” said Eric Smith, president of the Virginia Tech Libertarians. “If schools wanted to ban guns off campus, they could impose regulations."
"Basically, if this was passed, anyone who brings a gun on campus can be arrested for it."
-Eric Smith, president, Virginia Tech Libertarians
State laws in Virginia define a weapon as concealed when it is hidden from “common observation.” Receiving a concealed carry permit would allow the user to have that weapon hidden from common observation in most locations.
According to Smith, a victory for concealed carrying users would be for this regulation to not pass, but also that the state of Virginia would allow concealed carrying users to legally have their guns on campus without fear of being prosecuted or expelled.
“The best situation would be a state law that would allow concealed-carry on campus,” said Smith. “If all that happens is this applies to faculty and staff, that would be a big victory too. Students is a different scenario, entirely.”
State laws vary concerning the ownership of handguns and the ability of a gun owner to carry that gun in public.
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, a Tennessee resident who qualifies can be issued a handgun carry permit, and that firearm does not have to be concealed in public. On school grounds in Tennessee however, absolutely no one other than law enforcement officers may have a gun on school grounds.
In May of 2011, state representative Andy Holt sponsored a bill that was attempted to be passed allowing faculty and staff at college campus in Tennessee to carry a firearm if they were permitted. The bill has been postponed until 2012, leaving the situation still in question.
In Virginia, however, according to Article 1; Section 13 of the Virginia State Constitution, anyone may openly carry a (holstered) gun in plain sight in an act that is called “open carry.” Virginia also enacts all laws dealing with guns at a state level, meaning that no individual towns or cities can create their own gun control laws. There is no need for a gun owner in Virginia to go through a registration process to own a gun, but those wishing for a concealed weapon permit must still apply. A registered gun owner with a concealed carry permit can have that concealed weapon on a school campus unless stated otherwise by the university.
Without legal terminology, while in Virginia, someone can buy a gun and carry it anywhere, so long as it is not a “restricted area” such as a courthouse or public parks, but the gun has to be openly displayed. If that gun owner wants to conceal their weapon, he or she must go through a process to get a concealed carry permit.
The issue of guns on college campuses has been discussed across the nation.
“I think that it should be harder for someone to buy a gun in the first place,” said Cody Beecroft, an ETSU graduate now employed in Virginia. “There can be responsible gun owners, but that doesn't change the fact that it's too easy to buy a gun, and too many irresponsible college students who could be eligible."
Andrew Green is a University of Virginia graduate student studying law, and feels that both sides can be understood. “I think both sides overstate the safety (and) risk of the situation,” said Green. “I sympathize with the idea that the carriers would be the most safe, but depending upon the situation, it could be quite frightening. Although the odds of this are very slim, I'm concerned about accidental discharge. And furthermore, there is the situation where a certain carrier isn't quite as safe.”
David Necessary, chief of campus police at Virginia Highlands Community College, believes that having more guns on campus would only create more confusion if an issue such as a school shooting arose.
“We're not trying to deny anyone their Second Amendment rights,” said Necessary. “I think that if a student or faculty member with a permit tried to get involved (in a school shooting), they might have good intentions, but a law enforcement officer who arrived at the scene would have no idea who they are. It could end up being very tragic.”
According to Smith, the police and campus security have not been quick enough to respond to school shootings in the past. The Associated Press reports that it took 9 minutes for a police team to enter the campus buildings during the 2007 shootings. By the time they had finally entered the building, Cho had already taken his own life and the shootings had ended.
“We have to remember that with the majority of school shootings, the police response times is minutes – not seconds,” said Smith. “A gun fight statistically lasts four shots. The police are a cleanup job. Unless you put a police officer in every single dorm, you're not going to have police responding to an active shooter until many people have been killed. If one of the students had a gun when Cho came in and shot people, that firefight would have lasted a matter of seconds."
Should the state of Virginia pass a regulation that bans all concealed weapons from colleges, it could not only affect Virginia Tech, but other Virginia colleges, and universities across the nation.
“It's entirely possible things could change,” said David Necessary. “We would have to review our policies and go from there, but it definitely could happen.”
Smith says that not every student or faculty member is necessarily responsible to have a concealed carry permit, but that denying a student or faculty member with a permit to defend themselves would not change a school shooting situation.
"I don't want every student to have a gun, but someone who's going to bring a gun on campus to kill someone isn't going to care about whatever misdemeanor they pick up in the process,” said Smith. “When Cho carried his guns into classrooms and on campus, he was violating all these laws, but do you think he cared about any of that?"
Contact David Mason at [email protected]
posted Dec. 16, 2011
It happened again. Over 4 years after the Virginia Tech shootings, another school shooting happened at the same university. And just three weeks earlier, gun control rights were being debated on that very campus. The same campus where on April 16, 2007, Seung Hi Cho killed 32 people and wounded 25 others before taking his own life.
On November 17, 2011, two groups debated gun rights at Virginia Tech. One group argued that more guns on campus could invite more problems. Another group argued that taking away someone's right to protect themselves could invite more problems.
On December 8, 2011, a second school shooting took place taking two lives; a police officer who had stopped a vehicle on campus and a student gunman who then turned the gun on himself.
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the rights of American citizens to keep and bear arms. Yet when people hear the words “gun” and “school” in the same sentence, there is always a red flag. At universities across the nation, an issue has risen over whether or not students and faculty have the right to carry a concealed weapon should on campus.
Virginia Tech has been the home to gun debates since the 2007 school shootings. Anyone with a concealed carry permit is technically allowed to bring that weapon onto a public university campus, albeit risking being expelled or fired – but may not successfully be charged with a crime should the actions be taken.
However Virginia Tech is attempting to get a state regulation that would ban anyone from bringing a gun onto campus, and the result could change gun control on college campuses across the nation.
“Schools have policies that say they can't bring guns on campus, but the attorney general says that that doesn't cut it,” said Eric Smith, president of the Virginia Tech Libertarians. “If schools wanted to ban guns off campus, they could impose regulations."
"Basically, if this was passed, anyone who brings a gun on campus can be arrested for it."
-Eric Smith, president, Virginia Tech Libertarians
State laws in Virginia define a weapon as concealed when it is hidden from “common observation.” Receiving a concealed carry permit would allow the user to have that weapon hidden from common observation in most locations.
According to Smith, a victory for concealed carrying users would be for this regulation to not pass, but also that the state of Virginia would allow concealed carrying users to legally have their guns on campus without fear of being prosecuted or expelled.
“The best situation would be a state law that would allow concealed-carry on campus,” said Smith. “If all that happens is this applies to faculty and staff, that would be a big victory too. Students is a different scenario, entirely.”
State laws vary concerning the ownership of handguns and the ability of a gun owner to carry that gun in public.
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, a Tennessee resident who qualifies can be issued a handgun carry permit, and that firearm does not have to be concealed in public. On school grounds in Tennessee however, absolutely no one other than law enforcement officers may have a gun on school grounds.
In May of 2011, state representative Andy Holt sponsored a bill that was attempted to be passed allowing faculty and staff at college campus in Tennessee to carry a firearm if they were permitted. The bill has been postponed until 2012, leaving the situation still in question.
In Virginia, however, according to Article 1; Section 13 of the Virginia State Constitution, anyone may openly carry a (holstered) gun in plain sight in an act that is called “open carry.” Virginia also enacts all laws dealing with guns at a state level, meaning that no individual towns or cities can create their own gun control laws. There is no need for a gun owner in Virginia to go through a registration process to own a gun, but those wishing for a concealed weapon permit must still apply. A registered gun owner with a concealed carry permit can have that concealed weapon on a school campus unless stated otherwise by the university.
Without legal terminology, while in Virginia, someone can buy a gun and carry it anywhere, so long as it is not a “restricted area” such as a courthouse or public parks, but the gun has to be openly displayed. If that gun owner wants to conceal their weapon, he or she must go through a process to get a concealed carry permit.
The issue of guns on college campuses has been discussed across the nation.
“I think that it should be harder for someone to buy a gun in the first place,” said Cody Beecroft, an ETSU graduate now employed in Virginia. “There can be responsible gun owners, but that doesn't change the fact that it's too easy to buy a gun, and too many irresponsible college students who could be eligible."
Andrew Green is a University of Virginia graduate student studying law, and feels that both sides can be understood. “I think both sides overstate the safety (and) risk of the situation,” said Green. “I sympathize with the idea that the carriers would be the most safe, but depending upon the situation, it could be quite frightening. Although the odds of this are very slim, I'm concerned about accidental discharge. And furthermore, there is the situation where a certain carrier isn't quite as safe.”
David Necessary, chief of campus police at Virginia Highlands Community College, believes that having more guns on campus would only create more confusion if an issue such as a school shooting arose.
“We're not trying to deny anyone their Second Amendment rights,” said Necessary. “I think that if a student or faculty member with a permit tried to get involved (in a school shooting), they might have good intentions, but a law enforcement officer who arrived at the scene would have no idea who they are. It could end up being very tragic.”
According to Smith, the police and campus security have not been quick enough to respond to school shootings in the past. The Associated Press reports that it took 9 minutes for a police team to enter the campus buildings during the 2007 shootings. By the time they had finally entered the building, Cho had already taken his own life and the shootings had ended.
“We have to remember that with the majority of school shootings, the police response times is minutes – not seconds,” said Smith. “A gun fight statistically lasts four shots. The police are a cleanup job. Unless you put a police officer in every single dorm, you're not going to have police responding to an active shooter until many people have been killed. If one of the students had a gun when Cho came in and shot people, that firefight would have lasted a matter of seconds."
Should the state of Virginia pass a regulation that bans all concealed weapons from colleges, it could not only affect Virginia Tech, but other Virginia colleges, and universities across the nation.
“It's entirely possible things could change,” said David Necessary. “We would have to review our policies and go from there, but it definitely could happen.”
Smith says that not every student or faculty member is necessarily responsible to have a concealed carry permit, but that denying a student or faculty member with a permit to defend themselves would not change a school shooting situation.
"I don't want every student to have a gun, but someone who's going to bring a gun on campus to kill someone isn't going to care about whatever misdemeanor they pick up in the process,” said Smith. “When Cho carried his guns into classrooms and on campus, he was violating all these laws, but do you think he cared about any of that?"
Contact David Mason at [email protected]