The Gun Debate Saga Continues

Courtesy of Telegraph

Election season is underway and the Second Amendment to the Constitution, concerning the right to bear arms, with no surprise is up for the most heated debate.  

With there being so much back and forth amongst members of the senate, the house, and voters it seems that there will be little to no progress in finding a common ground in this debate.

The USF- Nielsen Sunshine State Survey by the University of South Florida conducted a survey recently on Florida residents’ opinions about gun laws. Seventy-three percent of Florida residents say allowing permitted students to carry weapons would be heading in the “wrong direction”.  

Some believe allowing concealed weapons on college campuses will not solve the problem at hand; in fact it may backfire and cause the shootings to spiral out of control.  

“Guns will have the average student thinking and acting as if they’ve rightfully obtained the same career duties and obligations of the standard police officer. The flaws in this mindset resonate in the lack of briefing and mentally stable and coherent mindsets, which most (if not all) officials who protect and serve retain,” Sade Davis, a fourth-year Political Science student at Florida State University said.

Others think with the allowance of concealed weapons on campus it will help to better police and possibly save more lives in the event that a deranged shooter were to open fire on innocent bystanders.  Many feel that a legally permitted gun carrier could use their weapon to shoot the criminal in the event that law enforcement is still in route.  

“I’m for guns on campus. I feel it is only appropriate for concealed carry permit holders to be armed on campus. However, only the authorities should know who legally has a weapon on campus,” Marcus D. Yarber, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student said.  

Uju Ononuju a fifth-year mechanical engineering student has his own views about guns on campus.

“I believe that only those who have a concealed carry license should be allowed to bring a weapon on campus,” he said. “To put a chokehold on an issue only makes that issue more susceptible to it being disobeyed. Regulation is key.”

Despite the right to defend oneself against mass shootings, guns being allowed on campus compromise the safety of students and faculty.  Instead of allowing students over the age of 18 with a concealed weapon permit to carry weapons on campus why not bring in more trained law enforcement to do their job.