lockman
State Researcher
imported post
http://media.www.loyolaphoenix.com/media/storage/paper673/news/2009/02/25/Discourse/Concealed.Weapons.On.Campus-3647460.shtml
Concealed weapons on campus?
Pro-concealed weapon bill, national student group worry Ed Board
Picture this: you're an average Loyola student going through a typical day - sitting in class, studying in Cudahy, waiting in line for coffee. Yet you know, all the while, that the person next to you could be carrying a legal, concealed firearm. Do you feel safe?
Though this situation is currently impossible due to Illinois' strict ban on concealed firearms, a new bill working its way through the state House of Representatives (HB0245) would reverse the ban, providing citizens with legal means of obtaining concealed firearm permits.
Closer to home, a student group at DePaul University called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (just one chapter of a 35,000-member national grassroots organization of the same name) is lobbying for the right to carry concealed weapons on campuses, should the state and City of Chicago loosen their own regulations.
This organization (now as close as a few Red Line stops away at a strikingly similar Catholic, Chicago college) doesn't currently have a chapter at Loyola. The Editorial Board acknowledges that some students here may agree with this movement. We, however, do not.
We believe that even if Springfield does pass a law legalizing concealed firearms, we as students don't want them on our campus.
Since private universities can - and in this case should - restrict freedoms granted by the state or federal government, we firmly agree with Loyola's current restrictions outlined in the student handbook.
"Anything that could be perceived or misrepresented as a weapon is prohibited on university property," it reads, exempting employees of government law enforcement agencies, including Campus Safety and CPD officers.
Of course colleges need security (didn't we all receive Campus Safety's recent e-mail about neighborhood robberies?) but packing heat at an institution of learning is not the solution.
An increase in guns does not guarantee an increase in security. Instead, it opens up a huge potential for gun accidents and doesn't come close to addressing the root causes of violence on campuses and in communities - causes such as poverty, gang activity, drugs and depressed students who fall through the cracks instead of receiving help. We shouldn't ignore the obvious - that if a person wants a gun, especially in Chicago, they can get one, illegally. Why, then, support laws that have the potential to make guns even more prevalent in our communities? We, and we suspect many others, would not feel safe if this law were to pass or if this grassroots organization were to prevail in our community.
Guns belong in the hands of the law enforcement officers who stake their career on safe usage of firearms, not the amateur gun enthusiast student sitting next to you in class. A sensible alternative would be to increase police security on campuses, and give local and campus law enforcement professionals the resources to do their jobs more effectively.
On its Web site, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus claims that arming students protects colleges from tragedies such as the shootings at Virginia Tech or NIU. An advertisement on the site shows a man proudly holding a handgun. The caption reads that instead of throwing books at school shooters, "lead would work much better."
Perhaps, but the root causes of violence should be addressed instead of embracing a solution that potentially leads to more violence.
http://media.www.loyolaphoenix.com/media/storage/paper673/news/2009/02/25/Discourse/Concealed.Weapons.On.Campus-3647460.shtml
Concealed weapons on campus?
Pro-concealed weapon bill, national student group worry Ed Board
Picture this: you're an average Loyola student going through a typical day - sitting in class, studying in Cudahy, waiting in line for coffee. Yet you know, all the while, that the person next to you could be carrying a legal, concealed firearm. Do you feel safe?
Though this situation is currently impossible due to Illinois' strict ban on concealed firearms, a new bill working its way through the state House of Representatives (HB0245) would reverse the ban, providing citizens with legal means of obtaining concealed firearm permits.
Closer to home, a student group at DePaul University called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (just one chapter of a 35,000-member national grassroots organization of the same name) is lobbying for the right to carry concealed weapons on campuses, should the state and City of Chicago loosen their own regulations.
This organization (now as close as a few Red Line stops away at a strikingly similar Catholic, Chicago college) doesn't currently have a chapter at Loyola. The Editorial Board acknowledges that some students here may agree with this movement. We, however, do not.
We believe that even if Springfield does pass a law legalizing concealed firearms, we as students don't want them on our campus.
Since private universities can - and in this case should - restrict freedoms granted by the state or federal government, we firmly agree with Loyola's current restrictions outlined in the student handbook.
"Anything that could be perceived or misrepresented as a weapon is prohibited on university property," it reads, exempting employees of government law enforcement agencies, including Campus Safety and CPD officers.
Of course colleges need security (didn't we all receive Campus Safety's recent e-mail about neighborhood robberies?) but packing heat at an institution of learning is not the solution.
An increase in guns does not guarantee an increase in security. Instead, it opens up a huge potential for gun accidents and doesn't come close to addressing the root causes of violence on campuses and in communities - causes such as poverty, gang activity, drugs and depressed students who fall through the cracks instead of receiving help. We shouldn't ignore the obvious - that if a person wants a gun, especially in Chicago, they can get one, illegally. Why, then, support laws that have the potential to make guns even more prevalent in our communities? We, and we suspect many others, would not feel safe if this law were to pass or if this grassroots organization were to prevail in our community.
Guns belong in the hands of the law enforcement officers who stake their career on safe usage of firearms, not the amateur gun enthusiast student sitting next to you in class. A sensible alternative would be to increase police security on campuses, and give local and campus law enforcement professionals the resources to do their jobs more effectively.
On its Web site, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus claims that arming students protects colleges from tragedies such as the shootings at Virginia Tech or NIU. An advertisement on the site shows a man proudly holding a handgun. The caption reads that instead of throwing books at school shooters, "lead would work much better."
Perhaps, but the root causes of violence should be addressed instead of embracing a solution that potentially leads to more violence.
