Overlooked Information?
(H/T to The Heritage Foundation blog)
According to the LA Times, there is a legal battle over owned and carried guns on college campuses in Colorado. Personally, I am uncertain where I stand on allowing standard gun laws to apply to college campuses- I think they could have stopped VA Tech-style shootings easily, but I also am aware that most college students tend to be irresponsible on the weekends, and that may increase the odds of gun deaths on campuses and in college towns.
The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, Inc. (IACLEA) has supported the weapons ban side of the argument in Colorado. They cite many studies to back up their viewpoint. While admitting a lack of in-depth knowledge on the studies they cite, I would like to point out two fallacies with their argument:
1. According to the Brady Campaign, well over half of gun deaths in America were from suicides. IACLEA states this towards the end of their analysis, but neglects to inform the reader that if a gun was not present knives, tall buildings, cars, waterways and other readily-available resources would suffice for those who are willing to take their own lives.
2. They claim that gun owners are more likely to engage in reckless behavior. While guns would give gun owners- assuming they are more reckless than average- another way to be reckless, I’d like to let a former Marine take the case: “At the meeting where the board voted on the ban, Brady Allen, a former Marine and history major at Colorado State, said safety concerns were misplaced.
“You might as well ban everything that has a potential risk — cars, alcohol and sports,” he said.”
Gun laws on campuses should be carefully weighed- a tiny number of gun deaths were from citizens protecting themselves, according to the IACLEA, in 2005, and colleges don’t exactly encourage responsible behavior by students. However, I think gun-related homicides on college campuses would be less common if guns were allowed, and if college students were encouraged to be accountable citizens- as my 20-year old sister, a professional singer and non-college attendee, is expected to be, by law- perhaps the culture of entitlement and irresponsibility at colleges could be changed and expected gun deaths related to carelessness would be an unexpected occurrence on gun-allowing college campuses instead of a point of great and legitimate concern.
