Students Protests Against Gun Restrictions at Universities

Students across the country are strapping empty gun holsters to their waists protesting gun restrictions at their respective campuses. This is starting to become a new hot topic of debate, adding a new spin to finding the true meaning of the 2nd Amendment. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, an organization of students and family members organized after the Virginia Tech shootings, came up with the idea.

A spokesperson from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence stated, "You don't like the fact that you can't have a gun on your college campus? Drop out of school." Yes, that sounds like a mature argument. Whether you are for or against the issue, wasn't this country found on the principles of being able to protest the powers that be? Ummm....I think that's called the First Amendment.

Ethan Bratt, a grad student at Seattle Pacific University, is in favor of allowing concealed weapons for those with a valid license. He argued that, "People who would otherwise be able to defend themselves are left defenseless when on campus."


I really think that both sides of the argument have valid points (other than the part about dropping out of school). On one hand, having more guns on campus would theoretically lead to an increase in the probability of one being used, which is bad. But on the other hand, if a student carrying a gun was able to take out someone trying to go on a mass killing spree like the one at Virginia Tech, I think it could really help.

I guess the key determining factor that makes me believe that we SHOULD be allowed to carry guns on campus is the Constitution itself. We were given the right by our forefathers to bear arms and defend ourselves. This isn't high school anymore. All of us are adults, and we could legally carry a gun if we wanted to off of campus if we obtained a license. The schools are trying to protect us, which is understandable, but there comes a point where they go a little to far, and I think that is happening now, and this issue needs to be looked at by the courts to see if it is, in fact, a violation of the Second Amendment.