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RE: Bad Idea
I think the only exception should be off-duty Police. No one else should have a weapon. What is needed is better alerting systems for students to remain where they are, as well as systems for professors or students to use to report emergencies.
Another thing--better training for campus security--most of them are just slightly better trained security guards. Give them the same training as law enforcement--give them appropriate tools of the trade, such as Rapid Response Teams.
That, along with a better reporting/warning systems will go a long way to saving lives. Granted, you're going to get 'false alarms', but if the intent was malicious, make sure the punishment fits the crime. Boot the student from college..no second chances, no excuses. Use of the warning system with malicious intent (a 'prank' if you will) buys you a one way ticket to expulsion for the remainder of the school year. A second violation buys them a permanent expulsion and banning from any state or federal aid programs. Maybe even a court date like turning in a false alarm does out here. Harsh? maybe, but the reality of it is that the system is designed for emergencies; and what if there happens to be another REAL one at the same time?
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Bad Idea
Don't take this the wrong way ... what I'm about to say is not a statement that Americans shouldn't have the right to bear arms. Not in the least.
What do you really think is going to happen if college students start packing heat? And I mean besides the shootings over girlfriends or fatal dude-hold-my-beer party pranks. Let's say some emo-kid actually gets some zeal and rallies his tight-black-clothes-mafia friends to go on a killing spree. BAM, the door is kicked in and he starts shooting into a lecture hall. Amidst the screams and the pandemonium as non-armed students begin to get up and run, say a dozen armed students pull out their handguns. Where's the shooter is problem one ... is it that guy? More than likely, the wannabe hero students are going to shoot other wanna-be hero students. The killer doesn't care, they're shooting everybody. But in the panic, the regular folks aren't going to be able to know which gun wielding students are evil and which aren't. Now add in the fact that we're talking about handguns here. Without training, a handgun is a notoriously inaccurate weapon. Again, remember the pandemonium? These wannabe heroes are going to miss and shoot their fellow classmates with stray bullets. I remember being a lane safety in the Army and scoring lane cards - soldiers often don't even hit the paper with rifles, good technique and practice. Other than the occasional fellow that grew up hunting, the odds of joe & jane college student actually being effective with their handgun are next to nil.
So ... what's the point? When a killer wants you dead - unless you have some type of prior warning, you're going to be dead.
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