One academic studyexamined the British Armed Forces from 2003-07, and found 1,158 unintentional firearm discharges, of which 43 resulted in injury. Alabama’s proposed law would do the same. In several cases, a good guy with a gun has attempted to intervene and either been killed, injured, or nearly shot the wrong person. This bill would prohibit state colleges from banning people with concealed carry permits to come on campus. The NRA and its statehouse allies adhere to the disproved theory that a good guy with a gun will stop a bad … By this logic, so-called gun-free zones are ripe targets for mayhem. That potential exists everywhere, and college property is no exception, as these incidents show. Just like their other claims, though, these two tenets are fatally flawed — and ignore the risks that come with allowing students and faculty to carry guns on school grounds. The average response time to an emergency call for police officers is about 11 minutes. And when arriving, how will the uniformed officer, amidst the chaos and crossfire, identify the bad guy holding a gun and wearing blue jeans and a backpack from the good guys also holding guns and wearing blue jeans and backpacks? When Democrats win, so do gun makers: Column. The law requires anyone carrying on campus to have the same licenses required for those who want to carry elsewhere in the state. As of January 1, 2020, 16 states have laws allowing people to carry concealed weapons without first receiving a permit; that includes Vermont, which has never required a permit for concealed carry. Carrying Makes You More Observant. As soon as the news of a gunman perched in the 300-foot tower was broadcast over KTBC radio, countless well-meaning Texans rushed to campus to help mount a counterattack from street level. In another example, under current Texas law, only those 21 and older can get concealed handgun permits, and the state lets them carry firearms on … The coincidence of the campus carry law and the day of solemn remembrance is more than just symbolic. But Republican state House Speaker Wylie Galt said he thinks the new bill has wide support from the Republican caucus and could be signed into law by new Republican Gov. A lawsuit challenging the University of Missouri’s ban on concealed carry falsely argues that concealed carry reduces crime and makes the misguided assertion that banning firearms on campus endangers law-abiding citizens because criminals don’t follow laws and will carry guns anyway. In other words, it does not distract students. I just joined, A Lott of Lies about guns in the New York Times, John Lott, the NRA’s Favorite Gun ‘Academic’, Is A Fraud, Five Arguments Against Gun Control – And Why They’re All Wrong, Rebutting the ‘Criminals don’t follow laws’ and ‘Gun Control only hurts law-abiding citizens’ argument against gun control, Debunking the “Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People” Myth, Less Guns, Less Crime- Debunking the Self-Defense Myth, Shooting Down the Gun Lobby’s Favorite “Academic”: A Lott of Lies, Militia Myths: Why Armed Populations Don’t Prevent Tyranny, But Often Lead To It, Debunking Alternative Facts About Gun Violence, VIDEO: Devin Hughes on the Gun Violence Prevention Movement, Review of John Lott’s Error-Filled “War Against Guns”. Aug. 1, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the infamous tower shooting at the state's flagship campus in Austin. Campus carry has been and will always be a bad idea ... knowledge of how to operate a firearm — maintain that without uniform trainings or background checks to obtain a concealed carry permit, there is no logistical sense in the argument that a so-called “good guy” with a gun will stop a bad … In the third scenario, where the suspect was not a threat, 23 percent of the participants fired anyway. By contrast, sexual assaults nationwide have been decreasing each year by approximately 3 percent. Concealed carry on campus is a bad idea: James Alan Fox Texas law takes effect on 50th anniversary of massacre that showed citizen shooters didn't help. But the numbers tell a different story. It is not just accidents that are exacerbated in the presence of firearms: guns can also escalate otherwise quickly forgotten disagreements into fatal encounters. The schools should also know which individuals have the skills or training for dealing with biological and chemical agents and who can administer CPR, he says. But there is a more deadly side to conceal carry. But the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its allies have been trumpeting the solution: the right to carry concealed weapons on campus. The Importance of Concealed Carry on Campus Scott W. Wagner - 02/17/2017 I have been a college professor since 1988 and have always been aware of the vulnerability of college students — particularly female college students — to criminal attack. Their dismal performance doesn’t come as a surprise to security and tactical experts, who in a recent article in The Nation warned that during an active shooting, an armed civilian without extensive training posed a greater security risk than a benefit. Editorial cartoons on COVID-19, President Biden, Democrats, Trump, racial strife and more from across the USA TODAY Network. In the first scenario, 7 of the 77 participants shot an innocent bystander, and overall, in scenarios one and two, most of the participants, regardless of skill level, were killed. So-called campus-carry bills are on the legislative docket in Florida and Michigan, and lawmakers are expected to follow suit in Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio, among other states. The results were harrowing. Campus-carry advocates say that an armed America is a safer America. Not so for the first responders who had to duck and dodge friendly fire as they attempted to step out onto the observation deck to overtake the shooter. Greg Gianforte if passed. In all likelihood, this scenario will remain strictly hypothetical. One of these analyses came from anindependent study commissioned by the National Gun Victims Action Council (NGVAC). As David Chipman, a former ATF agent and member of a SWAT team, explained: “Training for a potentially deadly encounter meant, at a minimum, qualifying four times a year throughout my 25-year career. But it does refute the idea that more good guys and gals with guns are deterring sexual criminals on campus. A National concealed carry permit? Should it be a 21-year-old gun owner whose only experience has been at a pressure-free shooting range, or a campus cop who is trained to react effectively under stress? And even before implementation, the law had an impact. The University of Texas enacted campus carry after the governor signed it into law last summer. Campus-carry supporters lean on a few broader gun rights arguments to push their case for fewer restrictions on firearms. Looking ahead, suppose there were an active shooter terrorizing campus — perhaps even someone brandishing a firearm now permitted on campus by Texas law. He puts into words my feelings on a National Carry permit better than I could, so I asked to re-publish his article here and he graciously accepted. Over 33,000 Americans die each year from gun violence. Actually, it can … 1. And on this milestone occasion, when the university community gathers in the shadow of the tower to witness the unveiling of a long overdue memorial to the victims, some in attendance could legally be packing heat. A recent study by David Hemenway of Harvard examined data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and found that women almost never successfully fend off a would-be rapist with a firearm. After all, under current law, armed citizens can carry a concealed weapon into literally thousands of places throughout their state, … When carrying a firearm, you have the ultimate power of force … (Four others were stopped by armed guards, and two more by off-duty police officers.) Further compounding the risk of arguments turning deadly are findings indicating that the college students most likely to carry firearms in public may be predisposed to detrimental behavior. On one side, people oppose the right of concealed carry on campus stating reasons such as this one presented by Concealed Campus, “It’s unlikely that allowing concealed carry on college campuses could help prevent a Virginia Tech-style massacre because most college students are too young to obtain a concealed handgun license,” (Common). Meanwhile, opponents warn of the potentially dire consequences of allowing guns in an environment where depression and drinking are commonplace. In the past seven days, 0 lives were lost to American gun violence. The bad news, folks, is that a plastic card that allows you to carry isn’t nearly as effective at stopping a violent attacker as a real, functional firearm. Gun advocates might argue that the reason so few concealed carriers have intervened in active shootings comes down to bad luck: They just haven’t been in the right place at the right time; had they been, then surely more mass shootings would have been prevented. Arming teachers poses too many risks and will make campuses less safe. They cite the Second Amendment rights of all citizens and the idea that a … The argument that campus carry would be an effective deterrent to sexual assault has been summarized memorably by Marion Hammer, a former president of the NRA, who stated that banning guns on campus provides “a sanctuary where criminals can rape and commit mass murder without fear of resistance.” She went on to claim that opponents of a campus carry bill in Florida were “engaging in a war against women.”. POLICING THE USA: A look at race, justice, media. Why Allowing Guns on Campus is an Especially Bad Idea In a recent editorial in the Chronicle of Higher Education , former Idaho State University Provost Gary Olson spoke to the realities of firearms on campus, their limited potential to improve safety, and the near certainty that they would have the opposite effect.