When it comes to the Second Amendment, views and beliefs are strongly held and can even be polarizing at times. A couple years back when Texas first passed the legislation for campus carry, I wrote a post about the negative, unfounded overreaction by some Texas college professors.
Fast forward to this week when the policy was implemented, and apparently there are still Texas college professors upset over the legislation. A news article described a professor who showed up to class in a helmet and body armor. He claimed not to feel safe knowing there were so many more guns being carried around campus. He used the same logic as those professors who protested previously, that a student who was upset could use force immediately against him or any other professor. This is insane, uninformed, ill-conceived logic.
A study last year, as reported, found that concealed permit holders are some of the most law abiding citizens in the nation. In fact, they rank above police officers. Generally speaking, violent felonies attributed to allegedly being committed by concealed permit holders were less then 1% of all violent crimes committed, while violent felonies committed by police officers were just over 1%.
Most states allowing for concealed carry of a firearm require a permit to carry, including Texas. In order to obtain such a permit, a person must be eligible by meeting certain requirements. Because of these requirement, people who obtain the permit are already law abiding citizens. Someone who has always obeyed the law their entire life is not all of a sudden going to become a violent felon just because they now carry a weapon. Rather, they comprehend the responsibility that comes with carrying a firearm and take it seriously. A concealed permit holder values their right to be able to carry and guards against losing that right. They are not the type of individual who will get mad and use their weapon at a professor. Honestly, the type of person who would do this would most likely be ineligible for a concealed carry permit in the first place, and if they did use a firearm against a professor, it would have been illegally concealed and brought onto campus regardless of whatever law is in place.
Bad guys are smart. They want to succeed in their unlawful quest. They will take the path of least resistance or abstain if the risks are too great. Laws don't stop bad guys, that is why they become criminals because they did not obey the laws and thus are held accountable. Gun laws placing restrictions on where weapons can be carried only detrimentally affect the law abiding citizen. The law abiding citizen will follow the law and refrain from carrying and thus being able to protect themselves or others from harm.
Bad guys go where they will not be stopped. A gun free zone is exactly the kind of place bad guys seek out. They know there is no one to stop them, or at least quickly. However, an area that encourages or even just allows law abiding citizens to carry will not be a favorite spot of bad guys. Why? Because the law makes provision for self-defense of oneself or others, meaning — the good guy can stop the bad guy!
The Texas college professor should be ecstatic about the new policy because in fact, he is far safer. Even IF a student should get mad and draw a weapon (which I hold would be illegally concealed), there would be other students, or even the professor himself, who could stop the mad student. Under the old law, that same mad student would still have brought in a weapon, but there would be no one to stop him from using it. Simply have the policy in place is a deterrent to bad guys because the bad guy will never know who, if anyone, is actually carry (it's called concealed for a reason). At any moment, any single person on campus could have the capability to stop a bad guy before the bad guy succeeds at his ill-conceived plan.
Arguably, crime rates will go down, not rise, on the Texas college campuses where guns now legally can be carried concealed. The professors, students, and others, regardless of how they feel, are in fact safer today then before the policy went into effect.
Showing posts with label Second Amendment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Second Amendment. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Friday, June 5, 2015
Campus Carry: Will It Improve Grades or Not?
Skimming the news today, a headline caught my eye "Gunpoint Average: Texas prof claims campus carry law will improve grades." Of course as a proud supporter of the Second Amendment, my curiosity immediately spiked. From a quick glance, I saw campus carry plus improved grades. I was thinking, well sure, that could makes sense — campus carry makes for a safer environment, which leads to less worry about safety, which leads to less stressed students, which leads to better grades. Right? WRONG! At least according to this Texas professor.
The professor ultimately is claiming better grades through fear and intimidation. This is the argument: because professors know that students may be carrying a gun, the professor will give an A for fear of their safety. How illogical is that. The premise is that a student with a gun may go to a professor and use it in an intimidating manner if he or she does not receive the grade he or she thought was deserved. Thus, to avoid this happening, a professor will give higher grades (i.e. A) just to protect themselves from students who lawfully carry guns.
This is a bizarre, illogical argument. First off, numerous campuses across the United States already allow campus carry, such as Liberty University in Virginia. And I know for a fact at Liberty, no professor gives a high grade because they are afraid a student lawfully carrying a weapon will walk into their office and intimidate them into giving a higher grade. Campus carry creates a safer environment for all the students who attend, not just those who carry. Bad guys are not stupid, generally speaking. Part of the beauty of concealed carry is that it is not known who is armed versus unarmed just by looking at a person. Most individuals committing a crime do not want to be caught, let alone shot. So for instance, a would be assailant, why would they enter a campus to commit a crime knowing there was a chance that the person they attack could be armed and would defend themselves? They probably are not going to do that. Just the fact that there are individuals lawfully carrying a weapon will make others around them feel safer. Even campus police often are supportive of students lawfully carrying a concealed weapon.
Second, most crimes involving guns are not committed by those individuals who carry lawfully, but rather those who carry illegally obtained weapons. When news stories break about crimes involving guns, rarely is the criminal using a gun that he lawfully carries concealed. Most likely any campus that allows for concealed carry, like Liberty, will have some time of application process and background check before giving out a campus carry permit. It is not that much different than what it takes to obtain a state concealed carry permit. If a person were to attempt to intimidate their professor through the use of a firearm, that person would most likely do it regardless of whether or not the campus allowed concealed carry.
Finally, if a student is so immature and stupid as to think they can get a better grade by brandishing a weapon at a professor, maybe they are not deserving of the opportunity to obtain higher education. College is a privilege, not a right. Granted there are many immature college students. However, many of those students do not graduate or succeed after graduation. And yes, I said stupid. Grades are based on the student's performance not intimidation. I do not know how many times I have heard grades are not given but earned. If a student wants an A, they can achieve it through hard work and determination. This is not that difficult in undergrad.
If, campus carry were to affect grades, it would be along the lines of what first popped into my mind upon reading the headline. Students who are highly stressed typically do not perform as well in their studies. Granted, college itself is stressful at times, but the more compounded stress in a person's life, the more their performance will decline. If a person does not feel safe, it can be stressful. Now a person may not automatically feel unsafe, but they are quite aware when they do feel safe, particularly females. Stress also often affects females more than males. So a student, and especially a female, who feels safe has one less stress upon them and will relax more. As already discussed, campus carry makes for a safer environment. So the student who feels safer will relax and by relaxing can focus better on their studying which typically equates to better grades.
I am grateful to attend a university that allows for concealed campus carry and I wish all universities and schools had the same policy. If campus carry leads to higher grades, it will not be because some idiot student tried to intimidate a professor.
The professor ultimately is claiming better grades through fear and intimidation. This is the argument: because professors know that students may be carrying a gun, the professor will give an A for fear of their safety. How illogical is that. The premise is that a student with a gun may go to a professor and use it in an intimidating manner if he or she does not receive the grade he or she thought was deserved. Thus, to avoid this happening, a professor will give higher grades (i.e. A) just to protect themselves from students who lawfully carry guns.
This is a bizarre, illogical argument. First off, numerous campuses across the United States already allow campus carry, such as Liberty University in Virginia. And I know for a fact at Liberty, no professor gives a high grade because they are afraid a student lawfully carrying a weapon will walk into their office and intimidate them into giving a higher grade. Campus carry creates a safer environment for all the students who attend, not just those who carry. Bad guys are not stupid, generally speaking. Part of the beauty of concealed carry is that it is not known who is armed versus unarmed just by looking at a person. Most individuals committing a crime do not want to be caught, let alone shot. So for instance, a would be assailant, why would they enter a campus to commit a crime knowing there was a chance that the person they attack could be armed and would defend themselves? They probably are not going to do that. Just the fact that there are individuals lawfully carrying a weapon will make others around them feel safer. Even campus police often are supportive of students lawfully carrying a concealed weapon.
Second, most crimes involving guns are not committed by those individuals who carry lawfully, but rather those who carry illegally obtained weapons. When news stories break about crimes involving guns, rarely is the criminal using a gun that he lawfully carries concealed. Most likely any campus that allows for concealed carry, like Liberty, will have some time of application process and background check before giving out a campus carry permit. It is not that much different than what it takes to obtain a state concealed carry permit. If a person were to attempt to intimidate their professor through the use of a firearm, that person would most likely do it regardless of whether or not the campus allowed concealed carry.
Finally, if a student is so immature and stupid as to think they can get a better grade by brandishing a weapon at a professor, maybe they are not deserving of the opportunity to obtain higher education. College is a privilege, not a right. Granted there are many immature college students. However, many of those students do not graduate or succeed after graduation. And yes, I said stupid. Grades are based on the student's performance not intimidation. I do not know how many times I have heard grades are not given but earned. If a student wants an A, they can achieve it through hard work and determination. This is not that difficult in undergrad.
If, campus carry were to affect grades, it would be along the lines of what first popped into my mind upon reading the headline. Students who are highly stressed typically do not perform as well in their studies. Granted, college itself is stressful at times, but the more compounded stress in a person's life, the more their performance will decline. If a person does not feel safe, it can be stressful. Now a person may not automatically feel unsafe, but they are quite aware when they do feel safe, particularly females. Stress also often affects females more than males. So a student, and especially a female, who feels safe has one less stress upon them and will relax more. As already discussed, campus carry makes for a safer environment. So the student who feels safer will relax and by relaxing can focus better on their studying which typically equates to better grades.
I am grateful to attend a university that allows for concealed campus carry and I wish all universities and schools had the same policy. If campus carry leads to higher grades, it will not be because some idiot student tried to intimidate a professor.
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