Annotated Bibliography
Lott, John. Should Bans Against Carrying Concealed Weapons Be Lifted On College Campuses? 9 March 2011. Web. 13 April 2016.
In this article, the opinion of the author (John Lott) is expressed as concerns the conceal and carry gun policy. According to this articles which made an appearance on foxnews.com, little cases of crime were reported in the areas where students permitted to carry guns did so. However, he notes that areas that were declared gun free had several cases of petty crime saying that lack of guns exposed the vulnerability of such areas to crime. Lott uses the two scenarios to support. In support of the conceal and carry gun policy, Lott, who is also an expert in guns cite that almost 77 colleges in America accept students who have gun holding licenses to carry them to school (John Lott). He asserts than none of these institutions have recorded any cases where the students abuse the guns hence posing a danger to the rest. The author also discusses issues of gun licensing and elaborates clearly how simple the process of acquiring a gun legally is. To conclude his articles, Lott provides information about gun ownership in America by states. He says that most gun holders are very good law abiding citizens and just use the guns for self-protection. The discussions in this article will be borrowed furtherance to the discussion of the conceal and carry gun policy.
Rousselle, Cristine. Concealed Carry on Campus? 9 March 2012. Web. 19 March 2016.
This article supports the conceal and carry gun policy by citing examples where lack of guns or presence of it led to the rescue of certain situations that would end up with several casualties. For example, the author of this article, Rouselle, cites an incident where a rogue student in possession of a gun went on a shooting spree and killed several other students simply because the rest of them were not in possession of guns. She argues that the situation couldn’t have been the way it turned out if other students had guns too (Rousselle). To illustrate this stance, the author cites an incident that occurred at a law school in Appalachian. In this particular case, students who were in possession of guns helped deter a colleague from shooting. Borrowing from Lott’s argument on gun-free zone, the first incidence by Rouselle clearly illustrates the vulnerability of students in gun-free zones. I will use these particular incidences as are in Roselle’s articles to argue for the conceal and carry gun policy. These incidences suit to illustrate the vulnerability that Lott cited in his article (Rousselle).
Henigan, Dennis. Keep Guns Off Campus. 25 May 2011. Web. 13 April 2016.
This particular article was the former vice-president of Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Mr. Dennis Hanigan, who also happens to be the director of Leal and Policy Analysis. As an expert in this area, we can confidently consider that he speaks from a position of expertise and authority. Dennis does not support the conceal and carry policy, and he has good reasons for that. Mr. Hanigan put across three strong points in this article for his opposition to the policy. First, he argues that colleges and universities have students who are aged between 18 and 24 years. Hence, he feels that this particular group has characters that my lose their soberness due to drinking hence would pose a threat to other. Moreover, students in colleges and universities stay in high-density dwellings such as hostels and group houses hence one case of lack of soberness from a student allowed to own a gun can be disastrous (Dennis). This article is hence very fundamental to build a case against the conceal and carry policy. Just like those for the policy, those against the policy like Dennis also have a strong point of argument.
Prann, Elizabeth. Debate on Concealed Weapons at College Campuses Heats Up at Georgia Tech. 22 September 2012. Web. 13 April 2016.
This article written by a news correspondent with Fox new based in Washington, contain several research works and reports that the author (Prann). Unlike the authors above who have decided to take sides on the issue of holding gun, Prann takes a different approach to this issue as she provides opinions to support and speak against either sides of the debate. She notes that there is high probability that a gun holder will be arrested as compared to the others who do not possess guns. Her argument for the prevalence of crime in the gun fee zone is that shooters are so aware that attacking an un-armed person will be easy as they are likely to show little or no resistance (Prann). To illustrate this, she cites an incident of students from Atlanta campus robbed at gun point because they were helpless by the mere fact that they did not possess guns.
As Elizabeth’s article leaves us with wealth of information, she points out to Colorado University as one of the institutions that have recoded remarkable decrease in cases of where gun holders abuse the right after the institution passed a conceal and carry law (Prann).
Bartula, Bowen. "University and College Officials’ Perceptions of Open Carry on College Campus." Justice Policy Journal (2015): 1-17. Web. 13 April 2016
This article reports on a survey undertaken in Texas University and also College Police Officials seeking their response on the conceal and carry policy. Amazingly, this survey revealed that cases of gun-violence and firearms related cases remained the same. Amongst the participants of this survey, a whopping 97% of them were against the conceal and carry gun policy (Bartula & Bowen). They argued that it would only make other fear crime while victimizing students on the other hand. The results of this survey are useful in this debate since it handled those who directly felt the impact of the conceal and carry gun policy (Bartula & Bowen).
Debate on Guns in Universities
The debate on gun ownership has been in the parlance for a very long time. Those who argue for or against it have their reason which they strongly stand to support. Even though there has been some common belief that those who hold guns are likely to be violent, statistics have not supported this claim (Elizabeth). For example, it is reported that in Florida during the year 1978, a record 7.91 million residence had been issued with licensed guns. However, more important to note is that only 168 amongst these licensed gun holder in Florida had their guns revoked. As Elizabeth Prann put it, merely carrying a gun does not make one non-law abiding, neither does it make them be on the wrong.
Possession of guns in universities though can be a challenge bearing in mind that at this age the youth may be involved in various illegal activities. However, a single incident of two of lawlessness should not be a point to discredit everybody. When attempts were made for the first time to allow students to possess and own guns, the move was met with resistance. If need be, a comparison between countries with very strict gun laws and those that have liberalized it a bit is necessary (Lott). Gun licensing in England is very strict. However, the presence of such laws haven’t proven that gun-related violence can be reduced. It is important to note that guns are always meant for personal security, in very rare occasions will someone acquire a gun through legal means jut to use it for illegal purposes. This means that to argue against the possession of a gun by an individual before they actually abuse that right is unjust.
Therefore, ownership of guns amongst university students simply call for soberness from the licensing authority while issuing such guns to students. With adequate assessment on ability to handle guns, students who qualify to possess guns should be considered just as mature as other adults and hence should know the rights and obligations that come with possession of guns.
The consequences of using guns should however not be generalized to a particular group. It is important to note that unless one acquired a gun illegally, they are always well aware of the obligations that befall them with such ownership (Bartula 15). This, therefore, means that an individual in possession of a gun will always think of whether they are right to use their guns in certain circumstances and whether they can take responsibilities for such actions. However, I still think that in as much as I consider it just a phobia on the part of those who argue against students owning guns, those who are into drugs and other substance abuse, should be strictly bared from using guns. This will ensure that others who do not own such firearms do not fall as victims to licensed gun holders who might not be in their right state of mind due to alcoholism and substance abuse.
In conclusion, I would like to maintain my position that gun ownership amongst university student is their right so long as they can take responsibilities for their actions. As a matter of fact, being that we’ve got statistics that compare gun related violence between gun-free zones and zones that allow conceal and carry gun policies in America, it is first of all necessary to dispel the notion that relates guns to crime and bad acts (Bartula 2). Secondly, just like any other measures that provide an with security like dogs, who can kill an “enemy” even without instructions from the owner, guns are hand-held and therefore every licensed gun user know very well that owning a gun comes with rights and obligations. Moreover, lack of gun has led to some shooting because those who lack guns look hopeless and therefore taken advantage of by criminals. It is then just fare that ownership of guns is allowed so as to reduce the fact that some gun holders exploit the vulnerability of non-gun holders.
References
Lott, John. Should Bans Against Carrying Concealed Weapons Be Lifted On College Campuses? 9 March 2011. Web. 13 April 2016.
Rousselle, Cristine. Concealed Carry on Campus? 9 March 2012. Web. 19 March 2016.
Henigan, Dennis. Keep Guns Off Campus. 25 May 2011. Web. 13 April 2016.
Prann, Elizabeth. Debate on Concealed Weapons at College Campuses Heats Up at Georgia Tech. 22 September 2012. Web. 13 April 2016.
Bartula, Bowen. "University and College Officials’ Perceptions of Open Carry on College Campus." Justice Policy Journal (2015): 1-17. Web. 13 April 2016
