For the Safety of Our Children

Written by Gene Helms

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Would you let your children go to school without the proper inoculations to protect them from disease? Would you let them go without a coat to protect them from the cold? Laws have been passed that require children to be protected against the many diseases that are out there and Children Services would take your children away from you if you disregard their health, safety, or well-being. So why do we think so little about sending our children into harm's way by disarming the faculty and students, on campus, that are of legal age? How can we keep letting the right of self-defense of our school faculty and students be infringed upon? Over the last year we have had mass shootings at Northern Illinois University, Virginia Tech, and many others. The students and faculty were left completely helpless as they came face to face with pure evil. Many families have lost loved ones due to prohibitions mandated by our government. It is time to take back our right to defend ourselves. One person with a concealed carry license and the legal right to carry on campus could have made a great deal of difference in how many people have been harmed in these incidents. In 2004, Utah’s state legislature passed a law that prevents public universities from banning legal guns on campus. In an article published by sunjournal.com, Bryce Eastlick, director of business operations for the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus said that twelve states are considering similar legislation and Virginia, Washington, and Arizona will be writing up bills this spring. Anti-gun spokesman for the Brady Campaign, Peter Hamm, thinks that it would be a terrible idea to allow our right to bear arms to be exercised at a college or university. I think that he is wrong and that college students and faculty are responsible enough to defend themselves. I also think that Mr. Hamm’s line of thinking will cause more damage than good in the long run. State Rep. Stacey Campfield has put together legislation in Tennessee to allow faculty to carry concealed on campus. Although this is still not allowing the students that are of age to exercise their rights guaranteed by the Constitution, it is a step in the right direction. It is time for the State of Ohio to seriously commit to solving this problem and to stop infringing on the right to bear arms guaranteed to responsible students and faculty members.