Introduction

The presence of guns on campuses will have harmful effects on the various aspects of the learning environment. It is worth noting that colleges are made up of a learning community of students as well as staff from diverse backgrounds, where freedom and intellectual exchange are promoted. If various weapons such as guns will be permitted in these environments, the whole body of students will live in a state of fear of their life, thinking on whether the fellow learners or staff with the guns can use it to commit a crime. The instructors will fear that the students who are doing poorly in their studies may use the weapons to demand favors. A perfect case of the above claims happened in the University of Arizona in the year 2002, where a failing nursing learner violently attacked three professors killing them on the spot because of his anger as well as depression (Wayment and Roxane 0886260518766431). The institution will be emotionally imbalance as well as a crime based, which will adversely affect the learning activities. The dangerous weapons should never be permitted on the campuses, even if they are in concealed form.

The argument for the use of Guns on Campuses

People who are advocating for guns used on college campus think that licensing of firearms will enhance the safety of the learners. They also believe that an individual must carry a gun for self-defense purposes especially with the increased cases of mass shoots on campuses throughout the nation. The idea is most of the US higher education campuses are not safe making it a mandate for the people to self-protect themselves. Some claim that the carrying of a concealed weapon on campuses will help lower the aggressive behaviors towards the institution instead of being vulnerable to violence. The advocates posit that the use of guns on campuses will also help reduce the levels of crime in the organization. However, according to Shepperd et al. (21), there is no profound statistical evidence showing that laws allowing the use of firearms will lower the crime levels on campuses. The thing is the use of guns in the school environment will provide more room for crime to be committed by the students and outside forces. There is also inadequate information to show that the guns would be used mainly for self-defense purposes.

Another argument for the use of guns on campuses is that it will help protect female students from any form of sexual harassment. Research done by Arrigo and Austin  (121) claims that perpetrators are less likely to assault women if they know they are armed. Besides, victims can have a chance to scare off the attackers, but this is based on the assumption that the people would be in a perfect position to adequately protect themselves. Nonetheless, reliable scientific studies posit that depending on the way victims react to various sexual assaults, arming women with guns may not provide an effective solution (Wayment and Roxane 0886260518766431). This is because most of these assaults are alcohol or drug-related. In such an incidence, the victims would have a tough time using their gun on a fellow student who they associate with or when they are in a frozen state because of drug use.

Arguments against the Use of Guns on Campuses

The use of concealed guns on school campuses can increase the levels of crime.  Supporters believe that the use of handguns can help deter crime, and, while there is some evidence proving their claims to be true, the opposition has adequate statistics to disapprove them. To begin with, recent surveys have shown that college campuses are not the main area for violence development as stated by state legislators. Besides, most of the people feel safe and secure while on the schools, even when visiting institutions that are located in dangerous neighborhoods.  Research by Verrecchia and Nicole (65) has proved that more than eighty percent of college staff feel safe while on the school premises. Thus, these people believe that the use of guns may not be a great measure to save them and they are determined to stop the carrying of handguns through protest or even voting.

The other objection to the issue of guns on campuses is that the brain of adolescents has not yet matured regardless of their mature physical nature. A study by Schildkraut and Victoria (487) has discovered that the human brain undergoes significant changes during adolescences and are not adequately developed until they are of age twenty-four, concerning their thinking as well as judgment. Besides, the high risk abuse of substance among the students has extended adverse impact on brain development, which significantly contributes to their poor decision making. Ina recent study, it was observed that every year, more than one thousand five hundred college students lose their life from drug-related injuries (Wayment and Roxane 0886260518766431). Thus, allowing students with poor decision-making capabilities to access guns while on campus may pose an increased danger of self-harm and accidental murders.  The act will also hamper the law enforcement officials reaction during an emergency reaction. The reason is it will result in increased confusion over the attackers being among a large number of students with guns that they claim to be using for protection purposes. Moreover, with a lack of adequate training, the armed students may harm the innocent people as they try to curb any more bloodshed within the school.

Secondly, the carrying of a handgun on campus will increase the possibility of a student being confronted by others. This is to say the carrying of concealed weapons will enhance the crime levels, the ability of the learners to hurt each other or be confronted. A study done by Shepperd et al. (21) realized that an individual carrying a handgun for self-defense purposes was in great danger of being shot or assaulting others within the school environment. In the society people who use guns risk increasing the level of disagreement that ends in public shootouts, mainly in neighbors that are known for disputes. Thus, instead of making matters worse, the law enforcement officials must be educated on how to negotiate with violent lawbreakers, lower hostility in most of the confrontational situations, and how they can deter escalation of violence in the campuses and schools. On that note, if the trained officers fail to prevent violence using guns, how can the students with no training, with more emotional vulnerability to various emotions, supposed to deal with abuse in the institution.

One of the remarkable college that has put in place measures to deal with the use of concealed weapons is Oklahoma University. The organization has laws demanding that students or any member of staff must have a letter of consent from the college leader allowing him or her to have the weapon in the school. The college has proposed bills to allow the learners to carry concealed firearms regardless of the permission. The main opposition to the use of guns on the campus is because the management does not want to cause any undue tension that would result in more violence (Shepperd et al. 21). The security officials have a sense of responsibility for the safety of all the people on the campus. Thus, only highly trained security experts should be given an opportunity to use guns as they will use it make life more secure as compared to when all the learners are permitted to have guns on school.

Rebuttal

Even after going through the evidence a considerable number of people still think that the students should be allowed to carry guns on campus. These claims would have been viable if they could consider the broader legal rights to use firearms if one has undergone the mental screenings, sufficient training and obtained the needed scores to be licensed. It would be great if all gun license owner has been forced to complete all the exams to ascertain whether they can properly use the gun on college environments. Nonetheless, in the USA society today, it is easier to get a gun license in various states, which raises the concerns of whether the licensed people are sufficiently trained or if they are mentally stable to use the firearms without causing unwanted harm to others.

Moreover, allowing all the people to carry guns cannot be a great measure to solving the high levels of crime. Instead, it may have a possibility of increasing the level of violence of campuses. The provision of law and order within the schools must be left to highly training leaders who have proficient measures to protect the learners from attacks. Thus, instead of granting permissions to the learners to use guns on campuses, preventive measures should be adopted to enhance school security as well as safety.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the use of guns on campuses will in the most case continue to be a concern that is engulfed by a significant amount of controversy.  In the present day, the ability for the harm that permitting the use of firearms on college premises will cause, greatly outweigh the benefit that it can be obtained from the same. The learners are always being given several directions, leading hectic lives, getting more joy in the last phase of their youthful vitality, and dealing with the stress of the impending shift to adulthood. To allow a deadly weapon to be used on college premises will be a foolish move; it is an irresponsible idea. The main reason is it will increase the level of crime on the campuses, sexual harassment, and murder. Most of the students have little to no training on how to handle most of the concealed weapons in various situations. Secondly, the students have not matured to the point that they can make informed choices of where they need to use the guns. The learners also are involved in alcohol and drug abuse that shapes their thinking is impaired. Thus, the learners should not be permitted to carry guns; instead, the schools need to take the responsibility of hiring qualified security of officials to safeguard the lives of the learners.

Works Cited

Arrigo, Bruce A., and Austin Acheson. “Concealed carry bans and the American college campus: A law, social sciences, and policy perspective.” Contemporary justice review 19.1 (2016): 120-141.

Schildkraut, Jaclyn, Collin M. Carr, and Victoria Terranova. “Armed and academic: Perceptions of college students on concealed carry on campus policies.” Journal of school violence 17.4 (2018): 487-499.

Shepperd, James A., et al. “The anticipated consequences of legalizing guns on college campuses.” Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 5.1 (2018): 21.

Verrecchia, P. J., and Nicole Hendrix. “College students perceptions toward carrying concealed weapons on college campuses.” Journal of criminal justice education 29.1 (2018): 62-78.

Wayment, Heidi A., and Roxane Cohen Silver. “Grief and solidarity reactions one week after an on-campus shooting.” Journal of interpersonal violence (2018): 0886260518766431.