The Spectator The independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University
Lauren Scaffa
junior communications
“I don’t think there is a necessity for weapons on campus but
constitutionally I think they should be allowed to carry them as long
as they are not concealed.”
Markel Davis,
junior contemporary lit
“I personally don’t think that we should have weapons on campusbecause individuals who can be negligent could cause innocent bystanders to get hurt, and I do not want to be one of those
individuals.”
Megan Woods
graduate student English
“That’s extremely dangerous. That would be a terrible policy if it were
implemented.”
Marcus Bridges
junior
“I think students should not be allowed to carry guns on campus. It’s okay to have them at home but keeping them away from campus provides a
safer learning environment.”
Dana McCallam
junior criminal justice
“Absolutely not. Personal safety is important but that is not
necessary.”
so because there are people who use guns improperly and cause harm to ppl, i should not be allowed to use one to defend myself? Look at the past sweet heart. UK banned guns, gun crime has risen drastically. Australia banned guns, gun crime sky rocketed. You are missing the point that banning guns will only disarm people who follow the law. Criminals and murderers will not turn there guns in; so only the law abiding will be disarmed. Great idea. Since people are killed in car wrecks everyday, should we ban those too? Better get rid of the knives and baseball bats, they can hurt people. Guns in the hands of criminals cause crime. Guns in the hands of law abiding citizens does not. Over 2 million cases of self defense a year occur by people who carry guns to protect themselves. I have had to use my gun in self defense, hear me as a first hand witness. If YOU don’t want to carry to protect yourself, be my guest. I however, will continue to carry and realize that the world we live in is not a fairy tale. There are people who will do anything to anyone for any reason. I guarantee if someone attacked and raped you, you would wish you had a firearm to defend yourself. Please show me a credible source that shows more guns means more crime. Now here is the thing you dont get. You said “people with licenses murder people too”. Now that statements makes no sense to this argument. Do you really think that if someone wants to MURDER somebody, they care where they are allowed to have a gun? If they are going to KILL SOMEBODY, you think a law saying that guns are not allowed on campus will put a stop to it? That makes no sense. Murder is already illegal; a law on where you can carry a gun has absolutely nothing to do with this. This law ONLY affects those who obey it. Someone who is going to murder somebody, will not follow a law on where he can carry. That logic makes zero sense.
If guns could solve problems, instead of create them, we would be living in ‘fairy land’ a crime free heaven. But more guns don’t mean less crime. There are more guns in the US than any other country in the world. And, we have the highest rates of fatalities (murders, suicides and accidental deaths) caused by guns than another other place on earth too.
According to the Graduate Institute of International Studies, “The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.”
And if having a gun license meant ‘responsible’ then we really would be living in utopia. But people who carry hand guns and have licenses murder people too.
According to a spokesman from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation:
“A blind person can get a permit in Georgia, since all you have to do is pass a background check. And that person can be arrested the very next week for a felony, convicted of that felony the next month and still have that permit for the next five years.”
He made that statement in an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution (see reference below).
I’m not sure that the 400,000 licensed gun owners in Georgia would all fall under what you or I would think is responsible, and it doesn’t sound like the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, professionals who deal with guns all day long, think so either. The evidence collected by state and federal agencies, police departments, independent researchers, criminologists, behavioral scientists in the US, and worldwide, point to the same conclusion. More guns = more crime. More guns = more people dead.
Safely obscuring gun facts: There’s no monitoring of whether permit holders fall afoul of the law, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, Aug. 24, 2008.
I absolutely think that guns should be allowed on campus. It is first and foremost our Constitutional right to have them. Second, the state of Utah allows guns to be carried on school grounds and you know how many school shootings that they have had? The answer is zero. Criminals know not to rob or hold anyone up at gunpoint simply because the person that they are robbing can have a gun. Criminals are always going to have guns no matter what the law says. So its only natural that we should be able to protect ourselves and property. I think it is a great idea and I hope that the Georgia General Assemble passes this bill.
I agree. To receive a Georgia Firearm License you must have no type of criminal record whatsoever. The background check is very extensive. These are some of the most responsible types of people out their that own this type of license. Why are these types of people, including me, getting punished for the mistakes and actions of NON-firearm license holders, i.e. criminals. You have to think in quality, not quantity. Just because the number of guns on campus go up, doesn’t mean the quality of the people carrying them are going down. It is in fact the exact opposite. The quality of the people carrying them will go up. I mean, seriously, how many school shootings and things of that nature is it going to take before people realize how real that is? The fact is that the crime rate is a lot lower in places with less gun regulations for license holders. And I don’t think people will fully understand the need for this until an event like what happened at Virginia Tech or Columbine actual happens to their school, god forbid it does.
In what way would it be MORE dangerous than it is right now? Currently only criminals and people who disobey the law are carrying guns. There is no law or restriction that can change that. Firearm License holders carry guns everywhere, everyday. But are there wild shootouts at walmart all the time? subway? No. There is not an imaginary line that makes people turn crazy and irresponsible when they walk onto school campus. My life is important to me, so i carry a gun to protect myself. Why is my life less valuable on school campus? If you dont want to carry, that doesnt bother me. But to tell me i cant protect myself because you are scared of an object with no mind of it’s own is absurd. Guns themselves are simply objects, the operators of them are the issue. The state of Georgia has over 400,000 people who RESPONSIBLY carry guns everyday, where they are carrying them does not change a thing.