Ashley Angelino
Glenn Marsala
English 101
March 6, 2008
Response Essay: Arizona Weighs Bill to Allow Guns on Campuses
By Randal C. Archibold
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/us/05guns.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
In this country in the past 10 years America has had many deadly shooting and you would think that because of these terrible tragedies that occurred that a community wouldn’t want guns to be easily accessible to citizens. State Senator and law maker Karen S. Johnson doesn’t necessarily agree, she has sponsored a bill that would consent to people with concealed weapon permits to bring weapons in colleges, universities, and schools for self protection for staff and students over the age of 21. Critics as well as I disagree on this controversial issue because of many of the following reasons.
The first reason why I think it would be a foolish idea is because of the availability of guns to younger adolescents, children and criminals. Just like in any situation there are people who will abuse the privilege of having a handgun. If this bill is passed it won’t only make it easier for criminals and children to obtain, it will be more accessible to someone who is feeling suicidal and harmful to others and give them more oppurtunities to commit crimes like the ones that have happened in the past.
The second reason that I disagree in this action is because it will only be a more unsafe situation to bystanders in a chaotic situation. Fred Boice, president of the Arizona Board of Regents in the article Arizona Weighs Bill to Allow Guns on Campuses by Randal C.Archibold said “that disputes best handled by campus security could quickly turn deadly with more guns on campus.” The average citizen isn’t trained on how to handle unexpected situations or how to shoot in crowds of people. I believe it could be an unsafe idea.
The last reason why I think it wouldn’t be a good idea is because of the accidental deaths that could occur when people are in conflict. In the heat of the moment people are going to look for the closest thing to help they’re selves if they felt threatened. Misunderstandings will turn into murders.
The last thing we need in our schools in this country is to allow adults to carry permits to public places. I think it would bring many more problems to the continuing misfortunes that are happening in this nation this day in age.
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2 comments:
This response is actually to Ashley and Ballard, no direspect intended, but I strongly disagree with both of you. I think that people who have pistol permits should be allowed to carry their concealed weapons with them on college campuses and where ever else they choose because that's the kind of world that we live in today. Think about it, if someone had their pistol with them when that guy went into the university in Illinois, maybe not so many people would've died. I think someone mentioned as well that it wasn't a good idea because of kids. If people are allowed to carry them, then there would be obvious restrictions that go along with it. In all fairness to the two of you, yes, I am biased because my husband has his permit and can carry a concealed weapon. My kids know that they are not to touch the guns, they are NEVER in the house loaded and are always locked in a cabinet whenever in the house. I think that anyone that has a permit is a fairly responsible person to begin with. These weirdos are getting guns somewhere and it's not from the people who are responsible to go through the process of getting a permit. You have to have a background check, not ever have been convicted of a crime and register ALL guns with a county judge. I am all for the law. As long as these weirdos are out there, we should have the right to protect ourselves. If they know that someone in the crowd may be "packing a pistol" they may not be as likely to walk into a place and open fire on a bunch of innocent people.
I feel that passing this law was one of the dumbest things I have ever heard because people are compulsive and if someone is allowed to carry a gun with them at all times it will be like the wild west all over again. People will kill on a whim or at least threaten which could lead to miss-fires. Especially when we are talking about college students who have the highest suicide rate of any age group. It will be like handing a gun to a disgruntled postal worker. Mark my words: this is a mistake and people WILL die.
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