yotebutcher90
Marksman
Benefits of Concealed Carry on College Campus
Purdue Student Government recently had a proposition that was introduced for debate by Zach Briggs to allow students who do not live in on-campus housing or residential halls to have the ability to conceal carry on campus after an eight hour training course. After much heated controversy and postponement of voting on this legislature, it unfortunately failed 7-15. This would have been very beneficial to the students who do not live on campus and use Purdue University’s’ libraries and co-rec. The opponents of the plan believe that “Campuses are safe and do not need guns to add to their problems.” (Patnaik) In fact, if campus is truly safe, why is there still crime occurring on campus?
The main idea of Recommendation 11-4 “Personal Protection Reform” was to be able to defend oneself with a weapon. Many of us have received the large quantity of text messages from Purdue University about a mugging or sexual assault that has occurred on or near campus. These are meant to for warn students about the possible threat of encountering the assailant in the area and giving a description if applicable. Unfortunately the number of these crimes has increased with the economy being the way it is here on campus. Police are unable to prevent a majority of these occurrences and in most cases are unable to apprehend the culprit. In addition to the cop’s inability to prevent this, the usual response time after a 911 call is made is approximately four minutes. This time allotment gives the criminal even more time to escape or blend in with other people. These guilty individuals are still able to continue to commit these crimes until they are either arrested or quit in this situation.
The said weapon above that would best perform the duty of self-defense is a firearm that is concealed while being carried. This means that it would be hidden from public view by means of being in a purse or a similar bag, an inner-waistband holster, or an ankle holster. The weapon being hidden would allow the carrier to be able to attend class and ride a bus without someone making a commotion over the firearm. Chances are that you have already met several people outside of campus who were carrying a gun that was concealed and you did not know about it. It still provides the public with security as most have never seen one in real life and do not know how to act.
“There are several alternatives to lethal firearms. Students should be encouraged and allowed to carry Tasers or pepper spray around campus.” (Patnaik) How effective would those means of defense be in discouraging crime? Well to address that, a survey done by John R. Lott, Jr. provides the best point of view for this proposition. He asked several felons in prison about what their biggest fears were when committing crimes such as robbery and rape. A large majority replied with the answer of an armed or potentially armed victim. They were more frightened with the thought of being injured than being caught by the police. Can more be said to answer the concerned citizens’ questions? The idea of an armed target makes that criminal less likely to proceed with the crime. This is why the “Personal Protection Reform” was created and brought into Purdue Student Government.
According to Mr. Patnaik, the mugging of an individual, such as a young lady, occurs quickly enough that you cannot react with a firearm, but believes that defense with a Taser or pepper spray will be able to achieve safety. This time allotment to grab either weapon is the same as it would to draw out a gun. Along with the supposed time difference, how effective are they over a concealed pistol? I will let the facts speak for me to answer this. If she does any of the following: non-violent resistance, the injury/defense rate is 45%; resistance with a knife, 40%; nothing to resist, 25%; and resistance with a gun, 6%. These facts show that the young lady is least likely to be injured by the assailant by resisting with the firearm over a weapon like a knife. Which means would you choose for self-defense?
Purdue would not have been the first campus to allow concealed carry on its premises. Utah and Colorado have 32 college campuses that have been allowing their students to carry for 100 semesters now. In this time period, starting in 2006, there has not been any accidental discharges, gun violence (including suicide), and gun thefts. Other concerns such as someone not knowing how to correctly use/carry the firearm are addressed with a mandatory NRA approved course consisting of eight hours of class. In this class, one is trained how to correctly and safely fire, clean, handle, and reload. Along with this, etiquette, rules/laws, and tips are taught to the students. Some of these rules are among the most basic, like treat every gun like it is loaded, keep your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot, and never mix drugs and firearms.
One of the funniest comments that has been made by anti-gun supporters to those who are for supporting this ordeal is that guns would be put into the hands of a criminal. This is the most illogical statement made against this legislation. An American citizen is the only person allowed to purchase a firearm in the United States. In order to do this, the person has to fill out Form 4473, which is a sheet that requires background information that corresponds with a valid form of state issued ID. The firearm dealer, who has to possess a Federal Firearm License (FFL) issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to sell the gun, then has to call the FBI and use the information provided on the paperwork to complete a background check. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System is a very extensive and will be denied if the purchaser has a felony, current warrant, or is an illegal alien. This procedure is the first step to keep guns out of criminal hands. The next step to conceal carry is to be issued a Personal Protection Permit from the Indiana State Police. This is more in depth than the FBI background check. Once this is issued, a student would have then had to complete the required NRA course mandated by Recommendation 11-4 to be able to conceal carry on campus. As you can see, there would have been a lot required to be eligible to carry while at Purdue. Getting back to the comment, a criminal is going to commit a crime with a gun whether they are able to legally carry or not. They will already be able to be arrested for the crime in itself; the gun is just a means to escape easier without being pursued.
As our campus is becoming more dangerous for individuals, primarily young women, to travel around our campus and surrounding area, they need a mean of self-defense. The statistics above have showed that a concealed firearm even being showed drastically reduces the chances of injury from resisting. Criminals were polled and said a potential victim who had chances of carrying were left alone for a majority of events. If we were to be able to conceal carry on campus, the number of crimes would decrease due to a higher concentration of guns in the area. Criminals would then either take a very risky chance, stop committing the crime, or move elsewhere. This is why I believe that it would be beneficial to conceal carry on campus.
Works Cited
Briggs, Zach. "Recommendation Reform 11-4 Personal Protection Reform." Purdue Student Government. West Lafayette, 2011. 1.
Cook, Philip J. and Jens Ludwig. "Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms." National Justice Institute: Research in Brief (1997): 1-11.
"IC 35-47-2-3." n.d. Indiana Legislative Statute. 6 December 2011 <www.in.gov/legislative/>.
John R. Lott, Jr. More Guns, Less Crime. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Patnaik, Ronit. "PSG Should Not Support Concealed Carry on Campus." The Exponent 18 November 2011.
The FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System. n.d. 6 December 2011 <http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics>.
Purdue Student Government recently had a proposition that was introduced for debate by Zach Briggs to allow students who do not live in on-campus housing or residential halls to have the ability to conceal carry on campus after an eight hour training course. After much heated controversy and postponement of voting on this legislature, it unfortunately failed 7-15. This would have been very beneficial to the students who do not live on campus and use Purdue University’s’ libraries and co-rec. The opponents of the plan believe that “Campuses are safe and do not need guns to add to their problems.” (Patnaik) In fact, if campus is truly safe, why is there still crime occurring on campus?
The main idea of Recommendation 11-4 “Personal Protection Reform” was to be able to defend oneself with a weapon. Many of us have received the large quantity of text messages from Purdue University about a mugging or sexual assault that has occurred on or near campus. These are meant to for warn students about the possible threat of encountering the assailant in the area and giving a description if applicable. Unfortunately the number of these crimes has increased with the economy being the way it is here on campus. Police are unable to prevent a majority of these occurrences and in most cases are unable to apprehend the culprit. In addition to the cop’s inability to prevent this, the usual response time after a 911 call is made is approximately four minutes. This time allotment gives the criminal even more time to escape or blend in with other people. These guilty individuals are still able to continue to commit these crimes until they are either arrested or quit in this situation.
The said weapon above that would best perform the duty of self-defense is a firearm that is concealed while being carried. This means that it would be hidden from public view by means of being in a purse or a similar bag, an inner-waistband holster, or an ankle holster. The weapon being hidden would allow the carrier to be able to attend class and ride a bus without someone making a commotion over the firearm. Chances are that you have already met several people outside of campus who were carrying a gun that was concealed and you did not know about it. It still provides the public with security as most have never seen one in real life and do not know how to act.
“There are several alternatives to lethal firearms. Students should be encouraged and allowed to carry Tasers or pepper spray around campus.” (Patnaik) How effective would those means of defense be in discouraging crime? Well to address that, a survey done by John R. Lott, Jr. provides the best point of view for this proposition. He asked several felons in prison about what their biggest fears were when committing crimes such as robbery and rape. A large majority replied with the answer of an armed or potentially armed victim. They were more frightened with the thought of being injured than being caught by the police. Can more be said to answer the concerned citizens’ questions? The idea of an armed target makes that criminal less likely to proceed with the crime. This is why the “Personal Protection Reform” was created and brought into Purdue Student Government.
According to Mr. Patnaik, the mugging of an individual, such as a young lady, occurs quickly enough that you cannot react with a firearm, but believes that defense with a Taser or pepper spray will be able to achieve safety. This time allotment to grab either weapon is the same as it would to draw out a gun. Along with the supposed time difference, how effective are they over a concealed pistol? I will let the facts speak for me to answer this. If she does any of the following: non-violent resistance, the injury/defense rate is 45%; resistance with a knife, 40%; nothing to resist, 25%; and resistance with a gun, 6%. These facts show that the young lady is least likely to be injured by the assailant by resisting with the firearm over a weapon like a knife. Which means would you choose for self-defense?
Purdue would not have been the first campus to allow concealed carry on its premises. Utah and Colorado have 32 college campuses that have been allowing their students to carry for 100 semesters now. In this time period, starting in 2006, there has not been any accidental discharges, gun violence (including suicide), and gun thefts. Other concerns such as someone not knowing how to correctly use/carry the firearm are addressed with a mandatory NRA approved course consisting of eight hours of class. In this class, one is trained how to correctly and safely fire, clean, handle, and reload. Along with this, etiquette, rules/laws, and tips are taught to the students. Some of these rules are among the most basic, like treat every gun like it is loaded, keep your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot, and never mix drugs and firearms.
One of the funniest comments that has been made by anti-gun supporters to those who are for supporting this ordeal is that guns would be put into the hands of a criminal. This is the most illogical statement made against this legislation. An American citizen is the only person allowed to purchase a firearm in the United States. In order to do this, the person has to fill out Form 4473, which is a sheet that requires background information that corresponds with a valid form of state issued ID. The firearm dealer, who has to possess a Federal Firearm License (FFL) issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to sell the gun, then has to call the FBI and use the information provided on the paperwork to complete a background check. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System is a very extensive and will be denied if the purchaser has a felony, current warrant, or is an illegal alien. This procedure is the first step to keep guns out of criminal hands. The next step to conceal carry is to be issued a Personal Protection Permit from the Indiana State Police. This is more in depth than the FBI background check. Once this is issued, a student would have then had to complete the required NRA course mandated by Recommendation 11-4 to be able to conceal carry on campus. As you can see, there would have been a lot required to be eligible to carry while at Purdue. Getting back to the comment, a criminal is going to commit a crime with a gun whether they are able to legally carry or not. They will already be able to be arrested for the crime in itself; the gun is just a means to escape easier without being pursued.
As our campus is becoming more dangerous for individuals, primarily young women, to travel around our campus and surrounding area, they need a mean of self-defense. The statistics above have showed that a concealed firearm even being showed drastically reduces the chances of injury from resisting. Criminals were polled and said a potential victim who had chances of carrying were left alone for a majority of events. If we were to be able to conceal carry on campus, the number of crimes would decrease due to a higher concentration of guns in the area. Criminals would then either take a very risky chance, stop committing the crime, or move elsewhere. This is why I believe that it would be beneficial to conceal carry on campus.
Works Cited
Briggs, Zach. "Recommendation Reform 11-4 Personal Protection Reform." Purdue Student Government. West Lafayette, 2011. 1.
Cook, Philip J. and Jens Ludwig. "Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms." National Justice Institute: Research in Brief (1997): 1-11.
"IC 35-47-2-3." n.d. Indiana Legislative Statute. 6 December 2011 <www.in.gov/legislative/>.
John R. Lott, Jr. More Guns, Less Crime. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Patnaik, Ronit. "PSG Should Not Support Concealed Carry on Campus." The Exponent 18 November 2011.
The FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System. n.d. 6 December 2011 <http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics>.
. Let those COAS kids have some fun too! Also, way to wait till I graduate to start something like this. 1 week left for me 
