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Student Groups Divided On Right To Carry Guns On Campus
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH | | The Hartford Courant
April 17, 2009
Philip Axelrod and Sara Adler say they don't want to be defenseless targets.
"There are people out there who are off-balance and who shoot up schools," Axelrod, 20, said. "I don't want to be caught up in a situation where I have to lay down and die."
Axelrod, a University of Connecticut student, and Adler, who attends Central Connecticut State University, are leading "empty holster" protests next week at both schools to lobby for the right to carry concealed handguns on campus. Although state law permits eligible people 21 and older to carry handguns, student conduct codes at both universities prohibit possession of firearms on campus.
The weeklong protest — which launches Monday, the 10th anniversary of the mass killings at Columbine High School in Colorado — is being held to raise awareness about a national organization, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus [ www.concealedcampus.org]. The group advocates self-defense and seeks to form a front line against another slaughter like the one at Virginia Tech in 2007.
But opponents of heat-packing students, including a national organization called Students for Gun Free Schools [studentsforgunfree- schools.org], say colleges and guns don't mix. To improve security, the group advocates better monitoring of student behavior and improved screening of gun buyers, among other steps.
The debate over guns on campus arises at a time when gun sales and applications for permits are skyrocketing across the nation. In November 2008, according to the FBI, about 1.5 million background checks were conducted for gun licenses in the U.S., up 42 percent from the same period a year earlier. The trend continued in January and February. Many gun buyers have cited fears that the Obama administration will try to erode Second Amendment rights.
Bills to allow concealed weapons on college campuses are being debated in Texas and Missouri. Opponents, however, point to federal statistics showing that college campuses are among the safest places in any community. Crime figures for individual schools are available at the FBI's website, www.fbi.gov, and from a nonprofit organization that advocates campus safety, Security on Campus [ www.securityoncampus.org]. The organization cites statistics that show campus murder is rare and violent crime in general on the nation's campuses declined by 9 percent from 1994 to 2004.
That relatively safe environment, according to a statement on the Gun Free Schools website, "would be endangered by the presence of concealed handguns for the following reasons:
• Concealed handguns would detract from a healthy learning environment.
• More guns on campus would create additional risk for students.
• Shooters would not be deterred by concealed-carry permit holders.
• Concealed-carry permit holders are not always 'law-abiding' citizens.
• Concealed-carry permit holders are not required to have any law enforcement training."
Advocates, however, say prohibiting lawful gun owners from carrying weapons on campus actually creates a free killing zone for malcontents such as Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech student who committed suicide after fatally shooting 32 fellow students and wounding 25 others on April 16, 2007.
"We're protesting gun-free zones that offer easy access for mass murderers," Axelrod said.
Students for Concealed Carry makes these points on its website:
• Gun permit holders are less likely than nonlicensed people to commit violent crimes.
• The organization does not seek to arm all students; members want only the same right to carry guns on campus that they have at shopping malls, movie theaters and other public places.
• The 11 colleges and universities that allow concealed guns on campus — nine in Utah and one each in West Virginia and Colorado — "have not seen any resulting incidents of gun violence, gun accidents or gun thefts."
• Anyone who wants to carry a gun on most campuses can do so freely because there are no metal detectors, controlled entry points or other security measures to stop them.
As for the argument that campus and local police should handle any gun violence, both Axelrod and Adler say they believe police are dedicated to protecting students, but officers cannot be everywhere at once. The students say they want the ability to protect themselves in an immediate crisis.
"I would like to be prepared for it," Adler said, "just in case."
![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
me happy with the results so far![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
