Sun Devil Sound Off: Guns on campus from The State Press on Vimeo.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, in perhaps her one smart move of last year’s legislative session, vetoed a bill that would have allowed students and faculty to carry guns on college campuses in Arizona.
Democrats let out a sigh of relief and relished in a victory for common-sense gun laws, especially in light of a recent shooting in Tucson that left six dead and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.Last year, eight other states introduced similar bills that would allow guns on university campuses, and none of them passed. The only state currently allowing guns on campuses is Utah, according to USA Today.
This year, apparently the rest of the country did not take heed of the wisdom displayed last year in Arizona and eight other states. Fourteen states have introduced 35 bills that would allow students and faculty to carry guns on college campus.
Let me make one thing clear — I support the right to bear arms. I believe that it is every citizen’s right to own a gun. However, I also believe all good things come in moderation and in the importance of making sound decisions.
Allowing guns on campuses is not a sound decision. It turns a safe learning environment into hostile unfriendly setting.
Many opponents of allowing firearms on campus argue that university settings are often the hot spot for alcohol and drug use, creating the potential for even more disturbances.
“One reason legislators in most states have rejected guns-on-campus laws is probably because most were once college students themselves and can remember the binge drinking, drug taking and the bad judgment common at an age when science says brains haven't yet fully developed and the propensity for risky behavior is at its highest,” a USA Today editorial argued.
Proponents argue that allowing guns on campuses would, in fact, create a safer learning environment because it allows students to protect themselves from potential attacks, like the massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007 that killed 32 people.
To think that college students are of an age to protect themselves, let alone are competent using firearms in the heat of the moment, is foolish. The potential of harming an innocent bystander is more likely than the possibility of protecting oneself.
Instead of allowing guns on campus and creating the potential of an O.K. Corral shootout, legislators should introduce bills that build the requirements for obtaining a gun in the first place.
Extensive background checks and extended waiting periods should be established, effectively deterring those who are incompetent or threatening.
Many citizens argue that this is an infringement of their Second Amendment rights, but in reality, it isn’t. Citizens are still allowed to own a gun, as long as they aren’t a danger to themselves or others.
Arizona took the first responsible step and ensured a safe learning environment by preventing guns on campus last year. Other states need to take heed of their shining example and prevent the potential for more harm.
Reach the columnist at eeeaton@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
