^ 0 The Voice, For students, By Students
November 3, 2010 | www.fsuvoice.com
HANDGUNS ON CAMPUS?
NO: This isn’t the Wild West,
the solution to violence isn’t more violence
By Alicia Bayat
Voice Staff Writer
Intentions are irrelevant. What matters
is how the guns are used.
In 2009 a study in the American Jour
nal of Public Health indicated that the
United States is leader per capita in gun
deaths among industrialized nations and
that people in possession of a gun are 4.5
times more likely to be shot in an assault.
FBI crime reports show that 70 percent
of all murders are committed with guns.
In North Carolina alone, in 2009, there
were 480 murders of which 335 of those
were committed with a foearm (shotguns,
rifles and handguns.) Most, 243 were
committed with a handgun.
Although self defense is often the in
tention of people who buy and carry guns,
there are complicated legal ramifications
that make the difference between self de
fense and murder. The use of a gun in self
defense isn’t as simple as pulling the trig
ger. According to the FBI, only one per
cent of all murders in which firearms are
involved are considered to be justifiable
homicide.
Although Americans do have a consti
tutional right to carry fire arms, there are
limits as to where a gun may be carried.
For example, court houses and other pub
lic buildings are off limits. And the legal
entitlement to self defense is clear. How
ever, there are non-lethal alternatives to
guns — pepper spray, tasers, and learning
self-defense. Most campuses also have a
trained campus police presence.
Killing isn’t easy. Even in self defense
the average person is not emotionally and
psychology prepared to pull that trigger
and take a human life.
In 2009, a lone soldier opened fire on a
room full of people at Fort Hood in Tek-
as, one of the largest army bases in the
world with a population of about 33,000,
the majority of who are well-trained sol
diers. The presence of armed individuals
did not deter Major Nidal Malik Hasan
fi-om walking onto a heavily armed mili
tary base and killing and wounding 43
fellow soldiers and civilians. It took
trained soldiers on a heavily fortified base
more than 15 minutes to subdue Major
Hasan and end the killing. The damage is
irreparable for all those involved. Major
Hasan was a mental health professional
dealing with the effects of PTSD (Post
traumatic Stress Disorder).
A 2005 FBI crime statistics report
indicates murders in the United States
jumped 4.8 percent in 2004
The high emotional volatility on col
lege campuses would be a ripe breeding
ground for trouble. Students have been
known to riot over lost football games. In
2001 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina stu
dents filled the streets, set fires and over
turned cars after a Victory against Duke.
Whether alcohol induced or just a rush of
school spirit adding fire arms to the mix is
a recipe for disaster.
The typical argument for pro gun advo
cates is that students, staff or faculty may
be able to stop gunmen, if they are able to
carry a gun on campus.
What kind of defense could an un
tested, inexperienced, armed person be
against someone willing to die? How well
would an untrained, panicked individual
handle such a high stress situation? How
fast would someone be able to react?
North Carolina givers permits to ALL
qualified applicants. According to the
U.S. Department of Justice, Right to Car
ry laws only require “minimal restrictive”
criteria to carry concealed weapons.
A barrage of gun fire between individu
als will not bring civility to an otherwise
uncivilized situation, liiis is not the Wild
West.
see NOGUNS, page 16
YES: Don't sacrifice the safety
of commuters for lack of resources
By L’Asla Brown
Voice Editor in Chief
By North Carolina state law, no per
sons shall possess a firearm on any cam
pus of the 17 constituent institutions of
the University of North Carolina system.
That means, in retrospect, no commut
ers who hold concealed weapon permits,
no students who hold active restraining
orders against harmful persons, no mili
tary members with active security clear
ances, nobody can bring their firearm oh
campus whether it’s in their backpack or
Voice illustraion by Jovian Tumbuil
their vehicle, including Fayetteville State
University.
With recent campus shootings in Mich
igan and California community colleges,
the University of Texas, and FSU, the law
is understandable, but not necessarily jus
tifiable. Instead of patronizing entire stu
dent bodies with laws that have potential
to expose large populations of students to
additional harm, campuses should imple
ment detailed measures that would allow
licensed, qualified students to bring reg
istered weapons on campus, in their ve
hicles, for their own personal safety.
Campus police are present to ensure
maximum safety and minimal worry for
students who must travel throughout the
campus during dark hours, but more than
68 percent of students enrolled at FSU
are commuters, not to mention the staff,
faculty and administration. Of that group,
many have no choice but to take evening
courses to coincide with their full-time
jobs, families and other aduh duties. At
some point in time, commuters, staff, and
faculty must leave the campus and return
to their residences. Unfortunately, the
environment off campus is usually of a
higher threat level than FSU and the sur
rounding community. Commuters and re
spective employees of universities should
not be forced to sacrifice their personal
safety outside of the campus due to police
shortages, system inefficiencies, or under
trained officers.
No resident student should be allowed
to possess a firearm in any given situation.
If the campus police department follows
state regulations and ensures their train-
ing, equipment, and emergency manage
ment systems are up to par, there is abso
lutely no reason for a resident student to
feel threatened. Commuter students don’t
have the luxury of retiring to a bed located
within the confines of police that cater to
them.
For example, if a commuting single
mother, who lived in a low-income area in
Spring Lake was released fi'om an evening
course at 8:50 p.m., she’d arrive home be
tween 9:05 and 9:15 p.m., during hours of
darkness. Let’s say she had to pick up her
child firom a babysitter, now she arrives
home between 9:30 and 10 p.m., with her
child, during hours of darkness in a dan
gerous, crime-ridden neighborhood. She
is licensed to have a concealed firearm
for the protection of herself and her child,
but because she cannot have a weapon
at FSU, she must leave her handgun at*
home. Now, when she arrives home from
her night class, she is left vulnerable to the
seasoned criminals of Spring Lake, a city
whose own police force has fallen victun
to corruption before, and is still struggling
to function with integrity.
I guarantee you this situation is much
more prevalent at FSU, then students be
coming deranged and deciding to shoot up
their fellow students, faculty, and staff for
whatever reason.
What do you tell these single mothers
and fathers, students who live in crime-
ridden neighborhoods, or people who just
want to feel safe off campus? Because
you can’t tell them to call campus police,
and the Fayetteville police are not going
see YESGUNS, page 16