Maggie Hutchinson
English 100
Amelia Snellgrove
Should Guns be Allowed on College Campus?
Due to the recent upheaval of violent crimes on campus, many pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those for this may claim that their rights have been violated because many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on campus. It is not the right to carry a gun which is in debate here, but rather it is whether or not guns should be allowed on a college campus. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns, and being in the south, I am by far no stranger to seeing a gun from time-to-time, but it is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus. There are already too many guns available to the public, and allowing them on an educational facility would greatly increase the likelihood of injury or death. Americans, as previously mentioned, have the right to bear arms, and this should be held sacred, and not infringed, taken away, or limited. However, stricter firearm control should be implemented for those who chose to carry a concealed weapon, and gun control should be done by having stricter certification processes before a firearm or gun permit is issued, intensive psychological evaluation for the person or persons applying for a gun permit or a gun,and greater educational requirements for gun owners and firearm safety.
It is frightening how easily it is to obtain certification to own a gun, and in many states it is easier to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon once a gun permit has been issued. In Georgia, according to a website called georgiapacking.com, a citizen does not have to obtain a permit to carry a weapon as long as they are not prohibited from owning a firearm. However, they must have a Georgia Weapons Carry License, that is issued under code 16-11-129 to carry a concealed weapon. The O.C.G.A. (The Official Code of Georgia Annotated) 16-11-129 gives the owner of a gun the license to carry a weapon for a period of five years. This permit only costs the gun owner thirty (30) dollars. The only exceptions to this are: possession of controlled substance, a felony conviction, no one under the age of 21, a fugitive from justice, or anyone who has had his weapons license revoked in the past. There are many more exceptions to the rules, but none mention anything about the person's mental capacity save for someone that has been hospitalized in a mental institute five years preceding the application. Other states, such as Arizona, does not require its citizens to have a concealed weapon's permit. The Arizona governer Jan Brewer, in 2010, signed a bill which repealed the state law requiring people to carry a concealed weapons permit. There was even a proposal that would allow teachers and students to carry weapons into classrooms. Should colleges ever allow guns to be carried on their campus, it is highly likely that crimes and violent crimes would increase on a college campus. Educational pursuits are stressful enough, and many students, at times are not in control of their emotions, and anything can set off a barrage of emotions. If a student, who has a gun on their possession, feels that an instructor was unfair in their grades may "take it out" on the instructor and other students. An associate professor, on the tenure track, may get turned down for their tenure, and because of high emotions, he or she may use the weapon to exact revenge or "justice" unto the tenure board. Agitated emotions and a deadly weapon are the primary cause of injury and death in gun related incidences. Just because someone is in college, or just because someone is a professor, it does not guarantee that they are emotionally ready to possess a firearm.
Should there be mandatory psychological evaluation for registered and potential gun owners? To answer that question as briefly as possible, yes. In recent years, colleges have become quite susceptible to violence involving guns and gun related incidences. Verna Gates and Matthew Briggs reported that on April 6, 2011, a domestic dispute at a community college left one woman dead and three additional people injured, including a four-year-old girl that was hit by flying glass and a 36-year-old college student. All four victims and the suspect were related. On February 14, 2011, the Middle Tennessee State University was locked down when two men got into an argument. One man shot the other in the hand and then ran off. CNN reports that authorities locked down the school and searched the nearly 25,000 student and faculty body for the assailant. It is not certain whether these shooters had mental and/or emotional problems, but it is proven that these individuals were not emotionally ready to possess a firearm. Mandatory psychological evaluation could easily have given the emotional maturity levels of the person or persons involved in the shootings, and it could have prevented the shootings. By evaluating the emotional maturity of the potential gun owner, the authorities are able to decide of the applicant is ready and able to possess a firearm. Sigmund Freud, ages ago, set the criteria for emotional maturity as the ability to love and work. The Psychology Center, an organization based in California, says that William C. Menninger, M.D., adds to Dr. Freud's criteria by stating that emotional maturity should also include those individuals who also have the ability to deal constructively with reality, adapt to changes in their environment, have the capability to find satisfaction in giving rather than receiving, and have the ability to direct any hostile energy into creative outlets. Those individuals who do not meet the minimum requirements for emotional maturity should not be allowed a gun.
Many people start out with the good intention of buying a gun for protection and protecting their families. However, most of the in-home gun related accidents happens because people are often untrained and under-educated in guns and firearm safety. The fact that a gun safety training course is only sixteen (16) hours is appalling when mounted against the numerous times that a child or loved one were injured or shot by a gun going off accidentally. Now compare this to a twenty-one (21) year old college student getting a gun for the first time. Many people, when they get a new toy, want to show it off, and a gun is one of the more dangerous toys around. This college student, with the good intention of just showing the gun, is not thinking about the possible consequences, and he is (even though he has passed all of the state requirements) unprepared for the repercussions involved if the gun is accidentally fired by him or a friend. A comprehensive gun training and safety course lasting several weeks, may be what is needed to fully prepare the college student for many possible scenarios and the repercussions involved in owning and operating a firearm. Jim Sutherland, a blogger on the website "The Truth About Guns" feels that manditory gun training and education would benefit, not only gun owners, but also those who do not own guns. He believes that with manditory gun training a convenince store clerk might have a fighting chance at defending himself or herself against an armed robber. Sutherland states that a "well-trained gun owner would have a racer's edge in a situation where bullets are flying with reckless abandonment." Only after going through a comprehensive training course, and not an overview, would it then be remotely safe for guns to be permitted on a college campus, and then guns would only be limited to specific areas of a college campus, and then only under strict supervision.
Owning a gun is as American as apple pie, and we have been granted this right by our forefathers in the Constitution of The United States of America. It is not the right to own a gun that is in question, but rather it is the ability to own a firearm that should be looked at. The certification process to own a gun should be more than a background check and a firearm safety course, it should involve psychological and emotional testing, and an all inclusive gun training course that lasts longer than sixteen (16) hours. After the standards for firearm training and gun ownership have been raised, and only after a person is proven mentally sound to own a gun; only then would it be acceptable for colleges to allow firearms on campus. Raising the standards of gun training and firearm ownership would not be for the owners and operators of the owners, but it would be for those who choose not to own a firearm.
Cited References
GeorgiaPacking.com (2010, August), Georgia Gun Laws: In Plain English, Retrieved from georgiapacking.org/law.php
Gates, Vera (2011, April 6), One Dead, Three Injured in Alabama College Shooting, Retrieved from reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-alabama-shooting-idUSTRE7 357ZG20110406
CNN Wire Staff (2011, February 14), Shooting suspect on Tennessee University campus caputured, Retrieved from cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/14/tennessee.school.shooting/index.ht ml
GPB News, (2011, January 10), Arizona Gun Laws Among Most Lenient in U.S. Retrieved from gpb.org/news/2011/01/10/arizona-gun-laws-among-most-lenient -in-u-s
The Psychology Center (2011) The Criteria of Emotional Maturity, Retrieved from thepsychologycenter.com/
Sutherland, Jim (2011, March 22), Why Americans Need Manditory Firearm Training, Retrieved from, thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/03/jim-sutherland/why-americans-need -mandatory-firearms-training/
English 100
Amelia Snellgrove
Should Guns be Allowed on College Campus?
Due to the recent upheaval of violent crimes on campus, many pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those for this may claim that their rights have been violated because many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on campus. It is not the right to carry a gun which is in debate here, but rather it is whether or not guns should be allowed on a college campus. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns, and being in the south, I am by far no stranger to seeing a gun from time-to-time, but it is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus. There are already too many guns available to the public, and allowing them on an educational facility would greatly increase the likelihood of injury or death. Americans, as previously mentioned, have the right to bear arms, and this should be held sacred, and not infringed, taken away, or limited. However, stricter firearm control should be implemented for those who chose to carry a concealed weapon, and gun control should be done by having stricter certification processes before a firearm or gun permit is issued, intensive psychological evaluation for the person or persons applying for a gun permit or a gun,and greater educational requirements for gun owners and firearm safety.
It is frightening how easily it is to obtain certification to own a gun, and in many states it is easier to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon once a gun permit has been issued. In Georgia, according to a website called georgiapacking.com, a citizen does not have to obtain a permit to carry a weapon as long as they are not prohibited from owning a firearm. However, they must have a Georgia Weapons Carry License, that is issued under code 16-11-129 to carry a concealed weapon. The O.C.G.A. (The Official Code of Georgia Annotated) 16-11-129 gives the owner of a gun the license to carry a weapon for a period of five years. This permit only costs the gun owner thirty (30) dollars. The only exceptions to this are: possession of controlled substance, a felony conviction, no one under the age of 21, a fugitive from justice, or anyone who has had his weapons license revoked in the past. There are many more exceptions to the rules, but none mention anything about the person's mental capacity save for someone that has been hospitalized in a mental institute five years preceding the application. Other states, such as Arizona, does not require its citizens to have a concealed weapon's permit. The Arizona governer Jan Brewer, in 2010, signed a bill which repealed the state law requiring people to carry a concealed weapons permit. There was even a proposal that would allow teachers and students to carry weapons into classrooms. Should colleges ever allow guns to be carried on their campus, it is highly likely that crimes and violent crimes would increase on a college campus. Educational pursuits are stressful enough, and many students, at times are not in control of their emotions, and anything can set off a barrage of emotions. If a student, who has a gun on their possession, feels that an instructor was unfair in their grades may "take it out" on the instructor and other students. An associate professor, on the tenure track, may get turned down for their tenure, and because of high emotions, he or she may use the weapon to exact revenge or "justice" unto the tenure board. Agitated emotions and a deadly weapon are the primary cause of injury and death in gun related incidences. Just because someone is in college, or just because someone is a professor, it does not guarantee that they are emotionally ready to possess a firearm.
Should there be mandatory psychological evaluation for registered and potential gun owners? To answer that question as briefly as possible, yes. In recent years, colleges have become quite susceptible to violence involving guns and gun related incidences. Verna Gates and Matthew Briggs reported that on April 6, 2011, a domestic dispute at a community college left one woman dead and three additional people injured, including a four-year-old girl that was hit by flying glass and a 36-year-old college student. All four victims and the suspect were related. On February 14, 2011, the Middle Tennessee State University was locked down when two men got into an argument. One man shot the other in the hand and then ran off. CNN reports that authorities locked down the school and searched the nearly 25,000 student and faculty body for the assailant. It is not certain whether these shooters had mental and/or emotional problems, but it is proven that these individuals were not emotionally ready to possess a firearm. Mandatory psychological evaluation could easily have given the emotional maturity levels of the person or persons involved in the shootings, and it could have prevented the shootings. By evaluating the emotional maturity of the potential gun owner, the authorities are able to decide of the applicant is ready and able to possess a firearm. Sigmund Freud, ages ago, set the criteria for emotional maturity as the ability to love and work. The Psychology Center, an organization based in California, says that William C. Menninger, M.D., adds to Dr. Freud's criteria by stating that emotional maturity should also include those individuals who also have the ability to deal constructively with reality, adapt to changes in their environment, have the capability to find satisfaction in giving rather than receiving, and have the ability to direct any hostile energy into creative outlets. Those individuals who do not meet the minimum requirements for emotional maturity should not be allowed a gun.
Many people start out with the good intention of buying a gun for protection and protecting their families. However, most of the in-home gun related accidents happens because people are often untrained and under-educated in guns and firearm safety. The fact that a gun safety training course is only sixteen (16) hours is appalling when mounted against the numerous times that a child or loved one were injured or shot by a gun going off accidentally. Now compare this to a twenty-one (21) year old college student getting a gun for the first time. Many people, when they get a new toy, want to show it off, and a gun is one of the more dangerous toys around. This college student, with the good intention of just showing the gun, is not thinking about the possible consequences, and he is (even though he has passed all of the state requirements) unprepared for the repercussions involved if the gun is accidentally fired by him or a friend. A comprehensive gun training and safety course lasting several weeks, may be what is needed to fully prepare the college student for many possible scenarios and the repercussions involved in owning and operating a firearm. Jim Sutherland, a blogger on the website "The Truth About Guns" feels that manditory gun training and education would benefit, not only gun owners, but also those who do not own guns. He believes that with manditory gun training a convenince store clerk might have a fighting chance at defending himself or herself against an armed robber. Sutherland states that a "well-trained gun owner would have a racer's edge in a situation where bullets are flying with reckless abandonment." Only after going through a comprehensive training course, and not an overview, would it then be remotely safe for guns to be permitted on a college campus, and then guns would only be limited to specific areas of a college campus, and then only under strict supervision.
Owning a gun is as American as apple pie, and we have been granted this right by our forefathers in the Constitution of The United States of America. It is not the right to own a gun that is in question, but rather it is the ability to own a firearm that should be looked at. The certification process to own a gun should be more than a background check and a firearm safety course, it should involve psychological and emotional testing, and an all inclusive gun training course that lasts longer than sixteen (16) hours. After the standards for firearm training and gun ownership have been raised, and only after a person is proven mentally sound to own a gun; only then would it be acceptable for colleges to allow firearms on campus. Raising the standards of gun training and firearm ownership would not be for the owners and operators of the owners, but it would be for those who choose not to own a firearm.
Cited References
GeorgiaPacking.com (2010, August), Georgia Gun Laws: In Plain English, Retrieved from georgiapacking.org/law.php
Gates, Vera (2011, April 6), One Dead, Three Injured in Alabama College Shooting, Retrieved from reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-alabama-shooting-idUSTRE7 357ZG20110406
CNN Wire Staff (2011, February 14), Shooting suspect on Tennessee University campus caputured, Retrieved from cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/14/tennessee.school.shooting/index.ht ml
GPB News, (2011, January 10), Arizona Gun Laws Among Most Lenient in U.S. Retrieved from gpb.org/news/2011/01/10/arizona-gun-laws-among-most-lenient -in-u-s
The Psychology Center (2011) The Criteria of Emotional Maturity, Retrieved from thepsychologycenter.com/
Sutherland, Jim (2011, March 22), Why Americans Need Manditory Firearm Training, Retrieved from, thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/03/jim-sutherland/why-americans-need -mandatory-firearms-training/
