Before I delve into the touchy subject of gun control in Utah8212;the state that has become the poster child for the right to bear arms8212;I would first like to make one thing clear: I support the Second Amendment. I am a proud, legal owner of a Browning 9 mm pistol, a Remington 30-06, a 12 gauge Winchester, side-by-side and over-under shotguns, a small cannon and various other firearms whose caliber is too minute to mention. The Founding Fathers knew the right to bear arms was essential to repel tyranny and to guarantee our rights as American citizens to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
However, I understand that I am able to exercise my Second Amendment rights only if I do so responsibly, as to not infringe upon the safety of other citizens. This right, which is well-established by the Constitution, is not the subject in the controversial debate about whether concealed weapons should be allowed on campus. The issue here is a policy debate concerning the most effective way to provide safety for students. The Second Amendment is subject to reasonable restrictions8212;gun control in schools being one.
In 2008, the Supreme Court expressed this in the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller by concluding, “Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions…or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools.” Utah is the only state that prohibits its state institutions from barring guns on campus.
Perhaps the most popular argument for allowing handguns on campus is the idea that if more people had guns, students could protect themselves in the event of a Virginia Tech-style shooting and even go so far as to deter would-be attackers. However, there are doubts about whether concealed weapons are effective in deterring possible perpetrators. Many public shootings result in the suicide of the shooter, so the risk of being shot doesn’t do much to stem an attack.
Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence said about psychopathic mass murderers: “Armed conflict is not a deterrent, it is the point.”
Also, if students began firing back at the shooter and campus police were to arrive on the scene, it would be nearly impossible for these officials8212;who are trained extensively to handle emergency situations8212;to differentiate the shooter from the rest of the student body. Turning an already dangerous situation into the O.K. Corral is not the answer.
The bottom line is that the U is an enlightened institution of education. I feel privileged that I can feel safe here while pursuing knowledge I can apply to a career.
I know the feeling of carrying a gun enough to know that I don’t feel like the same person when I’m doing so. The ever-present consciousness of the ability to kill is both a powerful and humbling sensation. This feeling is not conducive to the intellectual thought process required to better yourself as a human being at the U, because it spreads an impermeable and blinding fear. The thought that anyone, at any time on this campus, could be carrying a loaded weapon, “just in case,” makes me nervous, and when I’m nervous, I’m not paying attention in class.
Unfortunately, violence in our society is a reality that’s all too common, but embracing that violence with more violence in attempt to curb it is not an equation that adds up.
John Stafford