After the shooting at Virginia Tech almost a year ago, UW-Madison students banded together to form the UW-Madison chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
With increased campus safety as its main goal, the group's cause is certainly admirable. However, increasing the presence of guns on campus is not likel;y going to solve any of our safety problems. In fact, allowing people to carry concealed weapons could lead to more issues of safety on campus.
Increasing the number of guns on a college campus where alcohol is ever present is bound to end tragically for students. As we all know, guns and alcohol certainly do not mix, and encouraging students to arm themselves on a campus that is not exactly known for its sobriety is asking for trouble.
While we can no doubt count on students to act responsibly while they are sober, it's when they are not sober that an accident is very likely to occur.
Background checks are usually the only way to verify if a person has a history of violence, and hence, whether they should be allowed to carry a firearm.
However, even the most extensive background check is a mere snapshot of a person - there is no way to understand how a person will change in the future.
College is a very turbulent time, and the majority of college students will undergo some fundamental changes. This of course includes psychological changes, and some students can become mentally 'unhinged' from the sheer stress of college. And if these types of people were to already own a gun (since they could have easily passed through a background check when they were considered legally sane), who exactly is stopping them from suddenly deciding to use it on themselves or others?
Therefore, even if concealed carry is legalized in Wisconsin, it still remains the wrong choice for college students.
Allowing responsible students, who first have to pass an extensive background check and complete a training program, to arm themselves for protection might sound like a good idea on college campuses. However it could prove to be tragic, as it provides more opportunities for potential criminals to obtain a gun. Let's consider a hypothetical situation: A responsible student obtains a legal firearm and permit after he or she passes an extensive background check and training program. Who's to say that responsible student's roommate won't steal his gun and use it for his or her own purposes?
Or that a friend of the responsible student who stumbles across the weapon won't decide to take it?
Regardless of the outcome, the bottom line is: Increasing the number of guns in circulation increases the chance for a criminal, or potential criminal, to come across one.
While many gun advocates point to several studies that have been done in addressing the topic of concealed carry and its effects on deterring violent crimes, there is also research that suggests that there is actually no evidence of this. A book titled Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review by the Committee to Improve Research Information and Data on Firearms"" suggests many of the past studies in the area of gun control do not actually provide true depictions of the effects of concealed carry on crime rates.
It is also very easy to imagine that gun advocates and lobbyists, such as the National Rifle Association, could have funded some of the research out there which suggests that an increased gun presence lowers crime.
While the SCCC should certainly be commended for attempting to make the campus a safer place, its solution needs to be taken into serious consideration.
Unfortunately, there really is no one quick solution to the problem of campus safety. Allowing everyone to carry a gun will not resolve anything and has the potential to exacerbate safety issues here on campus.
If our biggest concern is guns and violence, then adding more guns will not solve the problem. Maybe some people would feel safer if they were allowed to carry weapons here on campus, but I'm sure many would agree that sitting in a lecture hall next to someone who happens to be carrying a firearm would be a bit unsettling.
Perhaps our time and efforts would be better spent looking for different solutions, such as volunteering at or contributing in some way to SAFEwalk, rather than just adding more guns to the problem that is guns and violence.
Ryan Dashek is a sophomore majoring in biology. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
