Virginia Tech University shooting was the deadliest school attacks, from that shooting, many states have been considering the option of whether or not to legalize firearms on campus. Several people see that allowing weapons in schools as a careless option, while others see it as the best way to curb these campus killings. Allowing college employees to carry concealed weapons on campus is rather a thoughtless decision since it will not help solve any issues instead it will upsurge the problem.
When it comes to deciding whether or not to allow college employees to carry weapons in schools, the main concern should be how comfortable are the stakeholders, in particular, the students, parents and the administration. Equipping the staff members with the weapons is a reckless move, this is because one may have a bad day at work or home and decide to use the firearm at school. This will not have solved any issue, instead of arming college workers, states should find a better solution to restrain gun violence, which is ensuring that the laws for acquiring guns are strict. The safety of every stakeholder on campus should come first.
The perception of many students about having guns in school is that it is not very safe as outside people might think. If an active shooter were to attack, there would be an altercation between the assailant and the college employee in possession of the gun, this would affect other students or administration who would be caught in the crossfire. Although some pro-gun individuals may mean well when it comes to allowing firearms on campus, there could be several problems with their philosophy. Accidental discharges, staff members resulting in using guns to settle their differences at school and increase in the number of suicide cases caused by the easy access to weapons would point out that the pro-gun thinking is ominous.
Gun laws have been the talk in almost every state, especially states like Texas, California and Oklahoma which have been hit by the school shootings. In 2011, the state of Texas, through its’ senate attempted to pass a bill, to allow licensed individuals to carry concealed firearms on campus, this bill did not see the light of day when it was brought to the house in a procedural move. The reasons given by the house were based on the fact that many stakeholders were worried about the risky behaviours that individuals who possess the concealed weapons may indulge in, and binge drinking, which would result in many bystanders being affected. A campus professor should not be expected to protect a group of over 100 students against an armed assailant whose sole purpose is to cause harm to everyone on campus, that would be a reckless move. It has been proven that 20% of the time, trained officers fail to hit their targets, in addition, many individuals may get a license to carry concealed firearms, without going through target training.
In conclusion, there are different sides to this issue of allowing employees to carry concealed weapons on campus, but it goes without saying that, that mentality will not address the vital issue of college shootings. If employees are allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus now, next it will be the students, which will lead to more firearms on campus hence not resolving any issue but encouraging the problem. While the discussion on how best to handle the mass shootings will continue for a long time, what is evident is that something must be done to ensure the safety of every person on campus.
