Wednesday, February 18, 2015
In Bid to Allow Guns on Campus, Weapons Are Linked to Fighting Sexual Assault
Gun rights advocates who are trying to legalize firearms on college campuses have formed a new argument: armed female students will reduce sexual assaults. Do you agree with this solution to ending sexual assault? Do you think students should be allowed to carry firearms on campus?
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This is a very sensitive issue because sexual assault and gun control are both such heated issues in America today and they don't clearly follow party lines. While I can see the benefits and drawbacks of both arguments, I don't think that allowing concealed carry on college campuses is a good idea. Not only does the party/drinking culture make this risky, but now gun violence will increase in prevalence and it will be much easier to label a school shooting or even a deliberate firearm assault as self-defense. It will blur the lines more than they are already blurred. The comment from the senator in Florida about a decrease in college assaults after the attackers have "bullets in their brains" was mildly concerning because that isn't truly solving the problem; that's just creating another problem. Finally, I feel that there is a plethora of creative, innovative, and less-violent solutions to the issue of sexual assault on college campuses.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Antonella. Allowing concealed weapons onto campus just seems extremely risky and unnecessary. What I think they should do is provide free pepper spray and/or other materials for students if they feel they should need it. In my personal opinion, gun control should be more strict and this issue just makes it more lenient and a bit scary. Maybe this could reduce sexual assault, but are they willing to take on the responsibility that this could increase the amount of school shootings?
ReplyDeleteI really cannot support this idea. The concept is a double-edged sword in the first place.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, how would one ensure that these guns apparently meant to fight sexual assault would not also be used to commit assault. You can't always tell just by looking at someone rather or not they'll use a gun for the "right" reasons.
Basically, everyone would have guns on campus whether they have good intentions or not. The three deadliest school shootings in American history all occurred during our lifetime and two of the three were committed by students of the school (Columbine and Virginia Tech). In short, guns do not prevent violence.
I agree with Carolanne. Things like pepper spray would be less risky and might even be more practical. Preventing sexual assault is certainly a good thing. It's just that guns aren't the proper way to deal with it.
Personally, I hope this bill dies in committee. I completely disagree with the sentiments put forth by Rep. Baxley. We should not allow reckless students to carry guns around campus. Because binge drinking is so prevalent in college, I think concealed carry would create more issues than it would fix. In this case, we need to leave law enforcement to the law enforcement officers. Besides, half of the Republicans supporting this bill are probably only doing it to secure campaign contributions from organizations like the NRA.
ReplyDeleteBecause many of my family members grew up in Arkansas/Texas, where carrying a side arm is relatively prevalent, I have experienced what it feels like to have some random guy 10 feet away from me with a giant pistol strapped to his waist. It is an uncomfortable feeling. I would hate to have to encounter such an experience every day in college.
I don't think the solution to sexual assault on college campuses is to allow students to carry firearms. Like Antonella said, both gun control and sexual assault are both heated issues right now and I don't think students carrying guns will help anything. There are other ways for students to feel protected on a campus that doesn't involve carrying weapons.
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ReplyDeleteAs Antonella said, gun control and sexual assault are very heated issues in America today. Combine them, and you have a very controversial bill. I do feel that carrying a weapon to feel more protected against sexual assault on campus is a bit much. As Schafer provided an example toward, those who are unfamiliar with people carrying firearms are going to feel more than uncomfortable. I think there are better solutions to preventing sexual assault.
ReplyDeleteMost schools dont allow any alchohol on campus, so the whole alcohol plus guns = disaster thing doesnt really make any sense. Studies have shown that women who carry guns are better able to defend themselves against assault than ones with only pepper spray, which can be blocked simply by wearing glasses(though mace can get around them).
ReplyDeleteI don't think allowing students to carry concealed weapons on college campuses is the way to stop sexual assault. As others have pointed out, there are other ways to make sure students feel safe and protected on campus that does not involve allowing them to carry guns. This would just open up a host of other issues that do not need to be brought up when dealing with sexual assault. There are certainly better and less controversial ways to address sexual assault than carrying guns and these should be explored instead.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that allowing concealed weapons will help in the fight against on campus sexual assault. Generally on campus sexual assault happens during a date rape or association rape, often involving alcohol. In this situation such weapon might not be useful in fending off assault, and will only escalate the situation. I find the risk of accidental death outweighs the benefits.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that this is a good idea, just because of all of the safety measures that are already in place. All of the college campuses that I have visited not only have cops stationed all around campus (even very late at night to extremely early in the morning), but they have various safety measures such as alarm signals you can press all around campus and campus wide surveillance. The idea of giving women the ability to carry guns on campus is an attempt to make them feel more safe; but in the process, the idea of women carrying hand held firearms around will make the men more nervous.
ReplyDeleteThis is basically combining two of the most sensitive issues together. I don't think allowing these weapons will help the problem of sexual assult. The campuses already have ways to keep their students safe and I don't think adding the accessability to weapons will help solve anything.
ReplyDeleteI think guns help with protecting yourself against someone on the street. However, most college's have their blue light system which already does that for students, so guns would not be necessary. To defend against sexual assault, the culture at college's must be changed. It is not what goes on in the streets, it's what goes on at the parties. In addition, the amount of partying that goes on at colleges mixed with firearms seems like a recipe for accidental death.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the most heated discussions combined, yikes. As a bunch of my fellow classmates have stated that being equipped with an arm on campus would be a very bad idea. College kids tend to drink a lot and having a gun would just result badly.I agree with Carolanne that pepper spray is a good idea though.
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