Concealed Carry on Campus
Drug free. Weapon free.
We all want our educational institutions to be free of any possible negativity. These institutions provide a launchpad for the next generation helping them carry our nation forward to thrive and lead the world. Many campuses across this country operate like a city within a city providing their own housing, food, health care, counseling, and police force. Everything you would find in a city can be found on campus.
So when it comes to the safety of these campus citizens, are we doing enough? Are we restricting too much their ability to protect themselves?
When it comes to the safety of each individual in this country we already realize that The Country, the state, the city, the campus, not even the county or neighborhood can be there to protect you all of the time. Just like the old saying goes, you can't please all of the people all of the time; nor can you protect all of the people all of the time. Thus, we maintain that individuals have the right to protect themselves, and we work hard to protect that right.
How does this differ in a campus, learning institution environment? What are we worried about causing us to restrict the presence of firearms on campuses? What about the restriction on carrying a firearm in your car while your car is on campus grounds?
January 19th, 2010 - 12:15
My name is Reid Smith, and I’m the Michigan State Director for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
I absolutely believe that all students should be given the right to defend themselves. First off, a campus is an arbitrary boundary; on one side of a road, you can defend yourself – on another, you cannot. Imagine if the entire country operated in this fashion.
Utah is the only state that requires campuses to recognize CPLs. In all other states, students are disarmed. The fear is that, somehow, students are more volatile than other CPL-holders, and are more likely to “snap.” The larger debate over CPL-rights has proven this belief to be false.
Opponents also claim that police responding to a mass shooting would be confused and simply shoot everyone with a gun in sight. However, the majority of gunfights are over extremely quickly, and far sooner than even your best police response time. If a CPL-holder confronted a shooter bent on mass murder, the incident would be over before the police arrived, and the CPL holder may have saved the lives of many.
As you certainly know, you cannot carry a firearm under the influence. Some complain that guns and alcohol don’t mix. Of course they don’t. But if you ban guns from a campus on those grounds, you’d be obliged to ban cars as well.
However, the debate always comes back to one fact. A responsible, law-abiding citizen should never be disarmed; the only possible exceptions are courtrooms and airplanes, where metal detectors hopefully ensure your safety. However, there are no metal detectors to stop criminals from robbing gun free students as they walk home through a dark parking lot after a late night of studying.
Please visit our website at http://www.concealedcampus.org. We’re always looking for donations – no matter what size – or any volunteer help.
Reid Smith