Over the summer, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a measure allowing people to carry concealed weapons. Loaded guns, as well as some electric weapons such as Tasers, can now be carried around Wisconsin with the exception of law enforcement offices, prisons, jails, courthouses, secure mental health facilities, elementary and high school grounds and the areas of airports past security checkpoints.
This new piece of legislation will take effect on Nov. 1, and UW-Madison officials say they will allow loaded guns on campus. However, guns will still not be permitted inside campus buildings.
Are you kidding me? The university is allowing people to walk around with concealed weapons on campus? This legislation does nothing but make our campus less safe.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for gun rights—just ones that don't put more people at risk. As a gun owner myself, I would love to see less restriction from the government on my right to bear arms. However, I have a real problem with the policy of allowing guns on and around our university.
Say, for example, a mentally ill kid has a gun and is driving into campus with the intention on using it on his fellow students. Now say a police officer pulls him over for whatever reason. In the process of questioning him, the police officer notices a loaded gun out in the open in the back seat. With this new law, weapons can now be loaded and in an automobile, and the kid is doing nothing wrong. When he gets out of the car and starts shooting people we are left wondering what if the police officer had the authority to question the driver for having a gun.
It is dangerous to assume that everybody carrying a gun around campus is responsible and won't use it to harm other students, faculty or employees.
You can't tell me programs, like hunter's safety or gun safety, that people have to take to receive a permit will weed out irresponsible people who want to own a gun. The law does not even lay out exactly what type of training people would need to complete to receive a concealed carry permit. If the required training is anything like the required hunter's safety course, we are in trouble.
I took the hunter's safety course, and it was a joke. I passed that class without ever touching a single gun except for the guns we used during the final exam. Kids who could barely read passed that class; I think any dangerous citizen could do the same.
Some state Democrats cited the training requirement as a reason to support the legislation. However, hiding behind a program that inadequately prepares people to use firearms is a terrible reason to allow this law to pass.
It seems possible we will start a cycle of unwanted consequences. For example, if people start bringing guns onto campus other kids are going to get nervous and want their own protection. So they will start arming themselves around campus as well. Soon a majority of the people will start carrying guns around in the name of personal safety. However, it only takes one argument for someone to use their weapon to threaten someone. Maybe they don't intend to use a gun, but how does the other guy know that? So they take out their firearm and shoot in self defense.
The risks of allowing students to arm themselves on campus is too high. Think of it this way: Would you like the people you see drunk at a bar or riled up at a football game having a gun? What about someone who was barely able to pass a bogus gun safety class? This law could potentially lead to these people carrying guns.
City and campus safety is a growing concern, and the new concealed carry law will do nothing to keep our school and city safe.
Nick Fritz is a junior majoring in marketing. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
