The Current State of Affairs
Eleven states currently permit some form of gun carrying/possession on college campuses. They include Arkansas, Wisconsin, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and Utah.
The first states to legalize campus carry was Colorado in 2003 followed by Utah in 2004. Subsequently, a debate ensued across the United States as students and administrators at various universities throughout the country as well as state legislators took up questions in regards to how or if this would enhance student safety.
“Campus Carry,” as it is conventionally known, refers to state laws that make provision for the carrying of firearms on the campuses of public colleges and universities.
Pennsylvania
Students on some of Pennsylvania’s college campuses might be carrying more than books. Pennsylvania is among the states that allow individual colleges or universities to decide if they’ll ban concealed weapons on campus, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. While Pa state law does not prohibit the carrying of weapons, individual institutions make their own rules in regards to where weapons are permitted (USA Today).
Because of changes in Pennsylvania’s concealed weapons law in 2012, one of the two major public Higher Education Systems became concerned that they might not be able to constitutionally prohibit concealed weapons permittees from carrying guns on campus.
There are two major public Higher Education Systems in Pennsylvania:
1) The Commonwealth System of Higher Education (CSHE), which oversees Penn State, Pittsburgh, Lincoln Univ, and Temple
2) The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PSSHE) oversees the other 14 state colleges.
In 2012, PASSHE’s Chairman, Guido Pichini, stated the following:
“PASSHE universities have the ability to prohibit weapons, including legally registered firearms, in academic buildings, student residence halls, dining facilities, student union buildings, athletic facilities and recreation centers or while attending a sporting, entertainment or educational event on university property or sponsored by the university. However, PASSHE’s policies also must be consistent with Pennsylvania law, which allows individuals who are properly permitted to carry a firearm ‘on or about one’s person or in a vehicle throughout the Commonwealth.’
As a result, PASSHE’s schools changed their policies to allow concealed carry permittees and the ability to carry weapons on certain parts of their campuses.
The PASSHE guidelines do not impact private colleges or the other public colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, including Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Temple.
But why are these schools different?
The important distinction here is that these particular schools receive a state appropriation each year, even though they are not owned by the state of Pennsylvania. Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh, etc. are in this manner state-supported but not state-run. In light of this, they are free to make their own decisions about the prohibition of weapons on campus. The only exceptions are for students who hunt or shoot recreationally; they are permitted to store them with police.
Penn State Policy – “University policy prohibits the use, possession, or carrying of firearms while on University-owned or controlled property, or at University sponsored or supervised activities. Likewise, keeping a firearm in any locker or storage area of any building of the University is prohibited. The use, possession or carrying of explosives, fireworks, bows, and arrows, slingshots, knives or other dangerous weapons while on University-owned or controlled property or at University-sponsored or supervised activities is prohibited. Violators of this policy will face disciplinary action via the University discipline system. In certain circumstances (e.g. carrying a loaded firearm concealed in a motor vehicle without a valid concealed firearms permit, possession of an enumerated firearm under the Federal Crime Bill, etc.) such possession may subject the student to criminal prosecution under Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or federal statutes. Any weapon found in violation will be seized and will be returned to the student under proper court order.”
Briefly put, if you are carrying a gun at Penn State, you may have committed a crime and will likely be expelled if you are discovered and/or reported.
Firearms That Require a License in Pennsylvania
- Pistol or revolver with barrel less than 15 inches
- Shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches
- Rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches
- Any firearm with an overall length of less than
26 inches - “Loaded” – ammunition in the chamber, nondetachable
magazine, cylinder, or detachable
magazine IF the magazine is with the firearm
“Open Carry” in Pennsylvania
No one needs a special license to “open” carry in Pa, but if you enter a vehicle with a firearm w/o the proper license to carry you committed a crime. Any person who carries a firearm, where it is concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business without a valid and lawfully issued license commits a felony of the third degree.
Concealed Carry in Pennsylvania
To lawfully carry a concealed firearm in Pennsylvania, a person must either:
- 1 – possess a valid Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms (LTCF),
- 2 – maintain residency in, and possess a valid license/permit to carry a firearm from a state with which Pennsylvania has a current reciprocity agreement or
- 3 – fall within the applicable exceptions in 18 Pa. C.S. §6106(2)(b) as listed above, including §6106(2)(b)(15) regarding licenses/permits to carry a firearm recognized under Pennsylvania law without a formal reciprocity agreement.
Vehicle Carry in Pennsylvania
Car carry in Pennsylvania is governed in part by 18tC Pa.C.S.A. § 6106. In many states, it is no problem to have a firearm (meaning a handgun) in your vehicle whether you have a license to carry a firearm or not. In Pennsylvania, this is not the case. The minute you enter your vehicle with your firearm, however, it becomes covered under 6106.
Under §6106, “any person who carries a firearm in any vehicle or any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business, without a valid and lawfully issued license under this chapter commits a felony of the third degree.”
In Pennsylvania the issuance of a “License to Carry Firearms” allows individuals to carry a firearm concealed on or about their person or in a vehicle throughout the Commonwealth. No person, even the holder of a license to carry a firearm, may carry a loaded long gun or handgun in a vehicle.
Pennsylvanians are not breaking the law if they have non-NFA regulated shotguns or rifles (regulated National Firearms Regulated weapons include machine gun, short-barreled rifles (SBR), short-barreled shotguns (SBS), any other weapons AOW or concealable weapons other than pistols or revolvers and silencers) in their car, provided they are not loaded.
Handguns are more tricky (Giaramita). Absent a LTCF, you may only have a handgun in your vehicle if:
- You’re driving a car which belongs to you, your spouse, or your parent and the gun belongs to a parent or spouse who holds a valid LTCF; or
- It’s unloaded and you’re transporting it
- to or from target practice
- to or from a Federal Firearms Licensee
Penn State students are never permitted to open carry or carry and store any weapons on campus and/or in their vehicles. They must be stored with the police.
Georgia
The state of Georgia, as of June 2017, is the most recent state to permit guns on campus (new law not reflected on above map). This was done in spite of the results of a survey conducted by Georgia Tech’s Student Government Association, which revealed that a majority of students oppose concealed handguns on campus.
According to Georgia officials and House Bill 280, the law leaves it up to the person carrying the gun to know what the rules are and to follow them. This includes whether they are entering a place on campus where guns are banned or if they are taking a class with a high school student — a situation that would also bar them from carrying their weapon.
Georgia law requires anyone seeking a state permit to carry a concealed gun to be at least 21 years old. They must be fingerprinted and pass a background check. No signs will be posted on campus identifying which areas are off-limits. Everyone has been told they are not allowed to ask whether someone is legally carrying a gun.
Guns are supposed to be concealed, carried in a fashion that does not attract attention. Campus police will be responsible for administering the law.
Football game day exceptions: people will be allowed to carry their weapons in tailgating areas where alcohol can be consumed, but not inside athletic facilities.
Storage problems: there remains a question of what to do with firearms when owners are not carrying them if, for example, they live on campus. No campus in Georgia will provide gun storage facilities. Existing state law allows weapons to be locked in cars if the permit holder comes onto campus.
Student advocates at the “Cocks Not Glocks” protest against Texas’s “campus carry” law was held on the first day of classes in 2016 at the University of Texas at Austin, which spearheaded resistance to the law from students and faculty members at colleges in the state.
Texas
In 2015, Texas law was changed to permit the carrying of concealed handguns by license holders in public university buildings, classrooms, and dorms. Handgun licenses are available to anyone at least 21 years of age (18 for military service members). Applicants must pass a classroom and gun range training course. Restrictions may be applied to convicted felons and people charged with felonies, high-level misdemeanors, as well as people with a history of mental illness.
The law allows guns in buildings, classrooms, and dorms, but each campus makes its own rules about where weapons are permitted. By law, campuses must map out where guns are banned. At the University of Texas at Austin, for example, faculty members can declare their offices as gun-free zones. Students residing on campus can have their guns in common areas, including cafeterias and student lounges, but they are not permitted to keep their weapons in their rooms because there is no place to store them. Alternatively, guns are allowed in dorm rooms at Texas A&M University in College Station, where faculty must seek permission to ban guns from their offices.
Private schools, including Baylor, Rice, Texas Christian University and others, retained the option of banning or allowing weapons. Amberton University, which doesn’t allow students under 21 and has a total enrollment under 2,000, was the first private school that opted to allow guns.
Texas state law still bans weapons campus-operated hospitals and school sporting events.
In one incident that occurred, a Texas Tech University police officer was fatally shot. A student was subsequently arrested for the killing. The student, Hollis A. Daniels, was 19 years old at the time and was not in compliance with the law that required him to register the weapon with Texas Tech, which is required under the state’s campus carry law. Daniels was also not 21 years old (IHE).
The law in Texas, it should be pointed out, was adopted against the wishes of higher education leaders in the state, who argued that colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed (IHE).
In the first year since the law went into effect, at least 20 Texas universities had no gun-discharge incidents or reports of intimidation with a firearm, the Chronicle’s review found. More than a dozen had at least one gun-related report, including aggravated robbery and an accidental discharge in a dorm (IHE).
Campus Safety
The debate is classically polarized around safety concerns, with different views about how to keep people safe. There are those who believe that allowing students to carry would allow them to protect themselves. Following the same logic, they claim that if college campuses are put on a list of venues where guns are prohibited they will become targets for attacks. Alternatively, others say that allowing students to carry would be dangerous because there would be more guns on campus grounds and that this poses a distraction to learning. These arguments, however, have tended to break down and lead nowhere—particularly in states like Texas and Georgia with strong traditions that embrace gun culture and firearms ownership.
Adrienne O’Reilly, Oklahoma Director for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, carries an empty gun holster on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, Okla. (AP Photo/The Tulsa World, James Gibbard).
Anxiety + Fear = A Potentially Lethal Cocktail (re-post from Ian Bogost, The Atlantic)
According to an Atlantic journalist Ian Bogost, there is a “deep and pervasive unease” that already pervades college campuses, and safety and speech worries are just instances of a more general and more universal anxiety.
“Today’s college students,” he says, “are beset by unease. And it’s no wonder why—their whole lives have been lived bathed in vague and constant threat. Today’s 21-year-old students were born in 1995. They were kindergarteners on 9/11, and their whole childhoods were backgrounded by forever war. Their primary and secondary schooling took place under the supposed reforms of No Child Left Behind, which meant an education designed around lots of high-stakes testing and the preparation necessary to conduct it.
They entered high school just after the 2008 global financial crisis, after which declines in the tax base led to billions of dollars of funding cuts to primary, secondary, and postsecondary public education. Here in Georgia, the lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship, which had paid full college tuition for students who kept a 3.0 average, increased its achievement requirements for full tuition and eliminated support for books and fees. Meanwhile, tuition rose precipitously—35 percent over the last five years at Georgia Tech—as funding declined. And as state funding has waned, flagships like UGA and Georgia Tech have increasingly pursued more lucrative out-of-state enrollments, while increasingly relying on gifts, endowments, grants, and contracts as state funding has become a minority contributor to institutional budgets.
Getting into college also became harder. In the arms race to raise test scores and thereby rankings, admissions have pushed average SAT scores at Georgia Tech up from 1420 in 2013 to 1449 in 2015, only adding to the anxiety of admission. Twenty-five points doesn’t sound like much, but because of the way the SAT is scored, it might amount to a difference of as few as one or two incorrect answers on the exam. A couple answers might measure a differential in academic performance and potential, but it might also represent the accident of a cold testing facility or a stressful commute into the exam. Every aspect of these kids’ lives are drawn taut. One badly timed sneeze can spell disaster.
Once enrolled, college campuses are brimming with new anxieties and newly trenchant versions of old ones. The issues of preparation, access, and affordability to create an environment in which mere survival overwhelms learning—let alone indulgences like free speech. Then someone like me comes along and teaches the same class I would have taught five or 10 or 15 years ago, only to find that students are falling apart from the stress rather than from the materials. No wonder they fantasize about kidnapping my family.
Even the successful students still must contend with a much worse economic lot than their cohorts did in the past. At Georgia Tech, even students who pursue “practical” degrees in areas of supposed economic growth, like computing, still face massive competition and pressure for jobs. I have students who have filed hundreds of applications and endured five or 10 separate interviews for a single entry-level job, including time-consuming cross-country trips to all-day interviews, before finally receiving an offer. The only greater motivator than fear is debt.
A concealed-carry campus becomes a campus in which everyone carries a potential gun. And the potential gun is far more powerful than the real gun, because it both issues and revokes a threat all at once. Made habitual and spread atop an already apprehensive base, that sort of mental anguish is nothing short of terrorism.”
What Does the Research Say?
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (Bloomberg School of Public Health) released a study that argues the campus-carry movement is based on flawed assumptions about the relationship between civilian gun use, violent crime and mass shootings, including several killings on college campuses. The higher likelihood for college-aged people to engage in reckless behavior — binge drinking, drug use, fighting, suicide — heightens the danger, they said (NBC News).
The Hopkins researchers criticized much of the research cited in the pro-carry movement, saying that it was difficult to corroborate incidents in which gun owners claimed to thwart shootings — both mass shootings and smaller-scale attacks. The researchers also said that emerging research on concealed carry laws contradicted prior studies that concluded that such measures prevented violent crime. They said their data showed that right to carry laws are correlated with increased violence; that most fatal mass shootings occur in places where guns are allowed, and people with guns rarely are able to stop them (NBC News).
Alternatively, economist and author John Lott, whose work is often cited by the National Rifle Association, argues that concealed-carry laws make the public safer because they put guns in the hands of people who are more law-abiding than the general public. The Hopkins researchers also disputed this claim – a central claim of the gun-rights movement – that concealed-carry permit holders are far more law-abiding than the general population. The claim does not hold in states with law-abiding loose gun laws, the researchers said. “Many states relaxed restrictions on concealed and open carrying of firearms based on claims that such policies reduced violent crime,” the authors wrote. “But the best available evaluations of these policies indicate that these right-to-carry laws increase violence” (NBC News).
Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and one of the report’s authors, said in an interview that he hoped the study would be read by policymakers who are in the middle of the debate about campus-carry laws (NBC News).
A Harvard Study found that access to firearms increases the risk of suicide among populations of students, who are already vulnerable. Ecologic studies that compare states with high gun ownership levels to those with low gun ownership levels find that in the U.S., where there are more guns, there are more suicides. “The higher suicide rates result from higher firearm suicides; the non-firearm suicide rate is about equal across states” (Harvard)
Another study (Miller 2007) used survey-based measures of state household firearm ownership (from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) while controlling for state-level measures of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, and other factors associated with suicide. The study found that males and females and people of all age groups were at higher risk for suicide if they lived in a state with high firearm prevalence. This is perhaps most concrete when looking not at rates or regression results but at raw numbers. The authors compared the 40 million people who live in the states with the lowest firearm prevalence (HI, MA, RI, NJ, CT, NY) to about the same number living in the states with the highest firearm prevalence (WY, SD, AK, WV, MT, AR, MS, ID, ND, AL, KY, WI, LA, TN, UT). Overall suicides were almost twice as high in the high-gun states, even though non-firearm suicides were about equal (Harvard)
Grossman (2005) found that while the risk of youth suicide is lowest in families with no firearms at home, among gun-owning families, youths living in homes in which all firearms are stored unloaded and locked are at lower risk for suicide than those living in homes in which firearms are stored less securely (Harvard).
It may be worth noting here that gun-rights advocates have helped block federal research into gun violence for years.
Common Arguments Against Guns on Campus
Those against carrying guns on college campuses believe that having more firearms around makes gun crime more likely. They oppose the campus-carry campaign as an extension of broader efforts to allow people to carry concealed weapons in other public areas, which they say raises the risk of violence.
Critics also argue that apart from safety concerns, permitting guns to be carried on campus will have chilling effects on free speech. College classrooms might be censored as a result, as faculty and students might not be inclined to discuss contentious issues in the open without fear that students, absent rhetorical skills, might pull a gun to prove their point.
In an active shooter situation, the likelihood of another gun-carrying student diffusing the situation safely and responsibly is slim. Heroic notions that promote fighting bullets with bullets, ultimately putting more students in danger and increasing the likelihood of injury by increasing the number of guns on campus.
The question remains – what happens when a licensed gun owner who is permitted to carry a concealed firearm is the person who becomes the danger to other students?
Common Arguments For Guns on Campus
Those in favor of carrying guns on college campuses argue that those who have proper permits are being denied the ability to defend themselves by having to comply with state and campus gun restrictions.
Gun-rights advocates including Students for Concealed Carry — a group launched in the wake of Virginia Tech —maintain that an armed campus is a safer campus because police typically can’t respond quickly enough to stop a mass shooter in the act (USA Today).
A Compromise?
If exercising the right to carry a weapon on campus is a deal breaker for a given individual, perhaps attending a university campus where the activity is welcome is a better choice for that person. In spite of the recent spate of mass-shootings and a high-profile shooting on a college campus (VA Tech), college campuses are, for the most part, not social spaces characterized by violent activity. Some people derisively refer to them as “safe spaces” and in this they are not altogether incorrect (sexual assault is another issue).
Though rules can be broken, research and evidence suggest it is better to have rules that keep weapons away from campus than to remove stricter rules and open the door to a greater potential for violence.
Sources
Pennsylvania State Police, Carrying Firearms in Pennsylvania
The Armed Campus in the Anxiety Age, by Ian Bogost
Campus Carry In the Spotlight, by Nick Roll, Inside Higher Education (IHE)
More Guns on Campuses Won’t Make People Safer, Researchers Say, by Jon Schuppe, NBC News
Baxley F, Miller M. Parental misperceptions about children and firearms. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2006;160(5):542-7.
Grossman DC, Mueller BA, Riedy C, et al. Gun storage practices and risk of youth suicide and unintentional firearm injuries. JAMA. 2005;293(6):707-14.
Helpful Information on Pennsylvania vehicle carry provided by Mike Giaramita’s Pennsylvania Law Abiding Gun Owner Blog.
Discussion Questions (none of this information is being used for research purposes and you may answer anonymously using a pseudonym/nom de plume)
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
If you knew that a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm, how would feel about it?
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
Do you agree or disagree with the statement: colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your personal freedom?
Do you feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on your personal freedom?
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that are not covered by these questions.
I do not think that I would feel too comfortable around people my age carrying guns in a school setting. To me it just does not seem appropriate, and I also would not trust people my age who may have a lot of mental health issues carrying something that could end another person’s life. I think it is important to exercise the 2nd amendment, but there is just no need for weapons for school unless you compete in trap shooting or something like that which is for a sporting event. I think that owning a gun is a personal freedom that needs to be exercised properly and I do not think it is necessary to bring a weapon to school. I do not think that gun violence is a problem in the United States, but I do think there is a severe mental health problem that makes people harm others for no reason. Guns are often blamed for killing people rather than the person doing the shooting. You truly must understand what the motive is for these people with mental health issues before you can blame the gun itself for any wrongdoing. People who are responsible with guns are not causing incidents of school shootings and other acts of violence. Guns get a bad name for themselves even though the public and the media in particular should focus on the shooter themselves.
Me personally i agree with the policy that is set for carrying firearms on campus. although some professors and students may be licensed to carry what is really the need to carry a firearm around campus. school shootings have been a big thing within the past few years even with the firearm being snuck into the school. just imagine if the policy allowed firearms to be carried how much school shootings would increase. sometimes most people will turn to a gun when they are feeling bullied or threaten by another person. if the policy would allow firearms to be permitted on the campus I feel as if that would give people more safety for themselves since we have all seen situations of school shooting. that would make a person feel safe if there was a gun man around the school and they were able to protect themselves and even others person they have a firearm to stop the actual shooter. being able to carry a firearm in general has its pros and cons not just on a school campus. most people purchase firearms and carry them to protect themself, but you will also have a handful of people who have hold to firearms who are a danger to our community
Considering that school shootings are becoming more and more frequent I think it’s a little irresponsible that people can have guns so easily in the United States. That there are people on college campuses who can have it and conceal it is a little concerning to me. Because gun ownership is directly related to the gun violence that is so prevalent today. So, the fact that students are probably going through a lot of stress and different situations are dangerous. Especially because college students are surrounded by parties, alcohol, and many times drugs which alters the way they think and act. I would not feel at ease being on the college campus, let alone staying in the dorms. Last year there was a fight that ended in punches and more than one verbal one. I don’t even want to imagine how these arguments would have ended if either of those involved had a weapon. Personally, if I had to worry about this at the University I would enroll at any other. Students deserve to be able to have safety while they enjoy and go through their college years.
In my opinion access to guns should be restricted. There are some parts of America where it is harder to buy a car than a gun. A deadly weapon is given to almost anyone and many do not need to go through a psychological evaluation or anything to have one. This is something that should be required because you don’t know what kind of problems a person has or if they are a risk to others. Also, if there is an increase in shootings isn’t it more logical to restrict access to guns instead of giving more? With this what we are going to achieve is more people killing each other.
When regarding Penn States Policy I entirely agree with people not being allowed to have any sort of weapon on campus or anything related. With all that has been going on with shootings and stabbings in school, it’s become a real problem in today’s society compared to 20 years ago when no one thought of doing such a thing. Although I don’t think the solution is arming our teachers or professors although some might think it could help it also makes access to guns easier for students and teachers. What if a student gets a hold of that gun? What if the teacher has an accident with the gun even with gun training? But in regards to if a student should carry is completely off the radar in my opinion. Letting younger adults come into the class is just simply scary and unsafe. Which could lead to other students feeling unsafe and uncomfortable just going to class and sitting next to someone with a gun. In the bigger picture, I do think a concealed weapon is almost a necessity for today’s society but most definitely not in our schooling systems.
When regarding Penn States Policy I completely agree with people not being allowed to have any sort of weapon on campus or anything related. With all that has been going on with shootings and stabbings in school, it’s become a real problem in today’s society compared to 20 years ago when no one thought of doing such a thing. Although I don’t think the solution is arming our teachers or professors although some might think it could help it also makes access to guns easier for students and teachers. What if a student gets a hold of that gun? What if the teacher has an accident with the gun even with gun training? But in regards to if a student should carry is completely off the radar in my opinion. Letting younger adults come into the class is just simply scary and unsafe. Which could lead to other students feeling unsafe and uncomfortable just going to class and sitting next to someone with a gun. In the bigger picture, I do think a concealed weapon is necessary for today’s society but most definitely not in our schooling systems.
Regarding Penn State’s policy on the carrying of firearms on campus, I agree with it. In my opinion, neither students nor teachers should be allowed to bring firearms into the classroom. It is possible for there to be a shooting at a school, but no one should ever think of being the “hero” and murdering the person who committed the shooting, in my opinion, that is an unrealistic belief. I believe that having the option to carry a firearm is unnecessary because campus police officers are already responsible for keeping us secure and are not dependent on other students to carry out their duties. A child may not feel secure on a school where there are weapons, and if they see another student with a gun, their initial thought is not “Oh, they’ll protect me, or Oh, I feel safer now”. A child may not feel safe on a school where there are weapons. Campus police receive specialized training in a wide variety of security and safety procedures so that everyone can remain safe.
This article presented a debatable topic within the law of Pennsylvania. The act that could potentially allow college students to carry guns “concealed carry” on campuses around PA. Several states have already allowed this to be reality. As a lover of guns, I truly think this could be a major mistake. Statistics have shown that the prevalence of weapons have a correlation on gun violence. If college students have the ability to carry not only will it be dangerous, but also deadly. Arguments happen within schools all the time. College is different there are parties, drinks and drugs. I believe these all would not mix well. The Penn state policy is what most schools should be. College is for learning and feeling comfortable. Not having to worry if someone is going ti get mad and draw their weapons just because they have them. Fines and repercussions should be considered when it comes to the safety and human lives being put at stake. I pay close to 10 grand a semester so if I had to worry about being shot I just wouldn’t simply enroll in a school that I cant promise my safety for. This is a good example of why police should be present. I believe that if rules did change then I would consider because I do have training with State Police when it comes to shooting my firearm. I do train and put hours in the range to build my confidence with it. I also have that mentality to not draw my weapon until it is 10000% necessary. I can’t speak for others. That would make me feel unsafe.
Obviously school shootings are going way more often today than ever before. I personally do not think however that it is necessary for a teacher or student to carry on campus. I feel like with a teacher carrying there are to many things that can go wrong if there messing with the gun while trying to teach. I also think students shouldn’t carry as the same thing goes for them and just to many risk factors, what if a that student gets into a fight or one day turns on his/her classmates. The firearm would already 100 percent be on them because they are prohibited to carry on campus and its just simply not safe. I believe having police on campus is enough and that the campus police carrying and protecting us is all we personally need. I would personally not carry on campus as once again the risk factors are just way to high and to many things could go wrong. Overall in the world I agree with the right to carry a concealed weapon, but I do not think its necessary for teachers or students to carry on a school ground especially with police already here.
Put simply, I’m of the opinion that PSU’s response regarding prohibiting access and the ability for students and faculty to carry firearms on campus is reasonable and rational, and should be the standard for any institution of higher education, let alone education as a whole. The primary directive of students is to foster and apply their education to the world in which they live; not only would firearms hamper academics, but they would also elevate the volume of stress students are subject to in their day-to-day lives. In turn, this may cause higher education to become less appealing while also remarkably increasing the likelihood of a firearm-related homicide or suicide. I do know one fellow student who does possess a long rifle and who may carry this rifle on a gun rack in their vehicle; however, given the individual, it is unlikely that they would listen to what I would say about the legal and safety issues it poses. Be that as it may, their actions make me concerned for their health, along with mine. Broadly speaking, however, if anyone I knew was carrying a concealed firearm on our campus, I would be rather upset, pissed, and uncomfortable. In no way would it be justifiable under PSU policy, empirical research, and just my basic morals. I recognize that I am biased on the topic of gun policy within the United States provided my upbringing in the state of Texas (quite odd if you think about it), but it presents an unnecessary risk in the academic setting. The whole premise of students carrying weapons on campus brings me more anxiety than any sense of comfort. The last thing I need to be worried about is a classmate having a sour day and turning their gun on themselves or another student, myself included. In light of this, there is no possible way I would ever be convinced into carrying on campus, regardless of a theoretical rule change. Regarding the statement, I agree that police should be the only entities on campus with firearms, however, I do so with caution. Firearm proficiency requires that one train with their gun on a constant, almost daily, basis. And while I can not in any way be aware of what our campus police do on a daily basis, I will confidently submit that their schedule likely does not grant them the chance to consistently maintain their proficiency. In no way is owning a gun essential to or indicative of “freedom” to me; it’s more of a burden if anything. By extension, I do not believe that gun legislation limits my personal freedom. Gun violence is undoubtedly an issue within the U.S., as nowhere else on the globe do we see an issue of this magnitude more than we do here. It astounds me how hesitant we are as a nation to make any impact on gun violence in this country. Fortunately, I do not personally know anyone whose been shot…yet.
I support the policy that Penn State has in place regarding the carrying of firearms or other weapons on campus. In my opinion, there is not the slightest bit of justification to carry a weapon on campus. If people were allowed to bring firearms onto the premises of our school, I feel this would give rise to a more serious problem. To be honest, I would not feel protected and it would not make me feel any safer if a fellow student was carrying a concealed firearm in violation of school policy. Having campus security makes me feel that I am safe enough to walk around knowing that. Knowing that even though it is a small campus we still have security makes me feel even more at ease, particularly while I am now attending classes on a campus with fewer buildings. I agree with the statement that campuses are safer when only law enforcement officers are allowed to carry weapons there. Officers of the law go through extensive training to learn how to keep us safe. If someone who was not a police officer was carrying a gun, I believe that it would make me feel unsafe. In my opinion, the only persons who should be allowed to carry guns are those who work for the police. If students were allowed to bring firearms to school, I feel it would create a chaotic environment for everyone. It does not make any sense to me that a child would consider themselves to be in such a “unsafe” environment that they would feel the need to bring a weapon. Hypothetically speaking, there is no requirement given that the campus appears to be a reasonably a non-secure location.
I think our campus’s policy for concealing and carrying firearms and weapons on campus is good but to deal with fights I feel like that is poor and could use some work, especially issues with harassment. I personally do not know anyone on campus that carries on campus let alone multiple people. That does not mean that I don’t think anyone is, which can be terrifying. I do think there are some people that do but I do not know for a fact. If I knew for a fact that someone was carrying on campus I would feel hesitant and very nervous about it but would tell someone I was confortable with. I think it depends on the person if I would feel if someone was carrying a firearm on campus. I would personally think about it pretty deeply just because of the area that we are in, but I also have not personally had anything happen to me on the campus,but people close to me have. I am struggling to agree or disagree with the statement that colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed. I also do not think that owning and carrying a gun is essential for our personal freedom, but both my parents carry/carried so I also understand why they feel the need and want to carry as well.
I agree with my university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus. School is supposed to be one of the places students can rely on as a form of safety, allowing staff to have weapons will only bring fear upon the students. As of now, I do not know anyone who carries on campus. If I knew a classmate that was carrying, surprisingly enough, I would not be surprised. I would just hope that it isn’t used on campus. This assumption does not make me feel safe, but I am the same person who is under the assumption that nowhere in the world is safe. If the rules were changed, I would still not want to conceal carry on the Penn state campus. I feel that doing so would create chaos plus make me feel as if I’m a danger to everyone else. Since I’m living on campus for school, I would not want to make my living situation worse especially since we are already in a bad neighborhood to begin with. Plus, I do not believe that owning or carrying one is essential for my own personal freedom. I have been perfectly fine without one all my life, so there is no reason to begin just so that I can feel safe. With gun violence already being a big problem within our country, allowing freedom of their use would make matters worse. Personally, I believe that guns should be restricted because gun violence will always be a problem within our country if not dealt with.
I definitely agree with the University’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus. I have the belief that guns while attending a college campus and classes are just simply unnecessary. While school shootings are definitely an issue in America today, I do not see any positives to adding armed students into the equation. I personally believe that the police officers on campus being armed is enough for the protection of students. I feel as if the likelihood of an armed student “protecting other students” from an active shooter is pretty low, and the police officers on campus could take over the situation. I do not know anyone who conceals/carries on campus. However, if I knew a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm on campus, I would not feel comfortable or safe in this aspect. If this is prohibited, what is the student’s reasoning for still choosing to carry? What are their intentions? There are definitely people out there who are responsible gun owners, and would never use their concealed carry weapons in a harmful way; but there are also people out there who simply do not have the right responsibility levels to carry a concealed weapon on their college campus. I would not conceal carry on the PSU campus if the rules were changed, and I agree with the statement that colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
– This is a very controversial topic and I do not think that this should be a thing. I think that if teachers have it poses way too many bad factors. What happens if the gun accidentally goes off because the teacher is trying to teach the class. What happens if a student somehow gets ahold of the gun. And then after you get through those factors you must think about, how much training should the teacher or individual go through before getting cleared to take a gun onto school campus. And you must think about what happens if students in the class or uncomfortable with the teacher carrying around a weapon. And then I ask myself is the teacher with the gun liable for protecting just their class or the entire school. IS the teacher going to help responsible when kids or adults might die but the teachers first job is to protect the class and the class only, should they go to the shooter or should they get the class to safety first. I do think gun violence is a problem in the United States, but honestly, I’m not sure how to handle that problem. Personally, I do not know anyone who has been shot but I have heard people who I know tell stories about people they know being shot.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
Since I do not carry a weapon, I am completely fine with the policy that Penn State has for the concealing and carrying of weapons on campus. If a friend of mine were in such a predicament it would be unfortunate, but I believe that there is no real reason to carry a weapon on you at all times.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
I don’t know anyone on campus who conceals or carries a weapon on campus.
If you knew that a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm, how would feel about it?
I would feel uncomfortable if the person were mentally unstable or very aggressive and violent. However, it depends if the gun is away its fine, but now, if someone is holding a gun out in the middle of campus I would react swiftly to do something about it because the dude is about to shoot.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
Keeping in mind that some students are very hot headed, if events already have gone down on campus of murders and cases of the sort, then why make it easier with allowing guns on campus? It is unsafe because of how much easier it becomes to kill someone on campus.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why? I would not want to carry a weapon because I have never seen it necessary and I doubt that my mindset would ever change.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement: colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
Unfortunately, nowadays that question cannot be answered clearly, because policemen get acquitted from killing people even when there is clear evidence that it was not justified. However, I do believe it is safer than if college students are armed.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your personal freedom?
I was not raised to believe that and I do not stand by the need to own a gun to be able to experience freedom.
Do you feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on your personal freedom?
I do not believe it is an infringement to freedom, but it is meant to keep the people of our country safe in order to be alive to enjoy that freedom.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
Yes, I acknowledge the fact that there is a problem with gun violence.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
Yes, a member of our church lost his arm once due to a gunshot
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Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
I do not think guns should be banned because that is impossible, but I do believe in the need for restriction on how to obtain them and track those who have them to prevent tragedies from occurring.
1. I think that it is fair, but I personally disagree with the policy because something could happen where you need a gun and the cops aren’t always there in time.
2. I don’t know of any.
3.I probably would not feel since I don’t have a gun or someone to protect me.
4. The students who have a gun and are licensed to carry it. Also have a clean history.
5. Yes so that I can have protection all the time, whether it’s on campus or not
6. I honestly don’t fear a lot on campus so it’s not a worry that I have. It’s just something that I disagree with.
7.Yes
8. No I do not.
9. I think it’s a major problem but its better than how it was before.
10. No I do not.
11. They are already running background checks before giving out a license but I think they should check mental health states and all of that as well before giving it out.
To be honest I’m for someone carrying a concealed gun but for college kids and how they act I think the policy Penn state has is a good.
No, I don’t know anyone who carries on campus besides the police. Mainly cause they are not allowed to but I know some people who keep guns in the Penn state police armory
I would feel a little worried, either because he or she doesn’t know the rules or because they do know the rules and have some sort of intention, whether it be showing off or actually causing harm. Anyway id probably tell them to leave for there sake and everyone else’s
It makes me unsafe because most college students are idiots
Yes I probably would because Reading is right up the road and if I’m surrounded by people
I do and don’t, first of all when police are around everyone is on edge and that isn’t fun. But I do think the police on campuses do a good job of keeping us safe
You don’t have to own a gun, and if you do carry it, but you should be given the right to if you feel like it.
Yes, I do because I hate government, and when they but into my life, I hate them more
Yes, I do because people today are nuts whether its domestic or foreign
Yes, I have, I was 13 and I shot my self in the knee with a .22 and my uncle shot himself in the knee two but I don’t know what. (By the way, this was by accident).
There should be some restriction but only for those who don’t follow the law
I think concealed carry is a good thing because when you open carry you just look like you asking for attention and if let’s just say someone does decide to shot a place up the person open carrying is the first one he is going after.
1. I think it’s fair, but I kind of disagree with the policy because the cops on campus will not always be there on time to rescue a student from harm.
2.I know none.
3.I will feel unprotected and in harm since I don’t have a firearm or someone to protect me in case of need.
4.Safe is the students who have a firearm are licensed to carry and have a clean record history.
5. Yes, for protection at all times in and out of campus, because of this policy students are not able to bring their firearm to campus.
6. I feel kind of safe but not fully.
7.Yes, due to recent homicides that have been occurring across the states in and out of colleges. Most people like me feel safer now with a carry-on.
8. No, I don’t.
9. It’s a major problem, but not as bad as it was in the past.
10. Yes, I know a few who have been shot.
11. They are already running background checks and asking questions before handing out a carry-on license. I feel like that’s enough.
1. I believe it is wrong for the campus to tell use that we cannot carry firearms on campus but i know people do anyways. I think in the area that we are in also factors in because reading is not the safest place and people want to be protected.
2. I know a few and i know of people who also have weapons in their vehicles.
3. depends on the person, if i am friends with them then i do not see a big deal because i know that they are a good person. If it was someone that looked sketchy then i would feel a little uncomfortable.
4. makes me feel safe because i know they will protect everyone else.
5. yes i would carry, i plan on carrying anyway because my family carries and it makes me feel safe.
6. disagree because if the officers are away from a situation then who knows how long the response time will be. if someone is carrying when an event occurs then the chances of the criminal taking more lives has decreased.
7. yes, its my right and i want to exercise it, i want to protect others when someone wants to take their life.
8. yes because the people who make the laws do not know what they are talking about and just try to please the ones affected but if more people carried then these mass shootings would not be as bad.
9. yes in low class/poor neighborhoods
10.yes
11. Mental health needs to be addressed not guns. Its the people that do the killing
I personally do not know anyone who carries a firearm on campus, but I do know several people who have their concealed carry permit and I can safely say that I don’t feel comfortable that some of them do have one. Some of those friends I know have complete respect for the danger guns pose and take gun safety very seriously. As for some of the others, I know they understand the need for gun safety and do take it seriously, I also know they’re either stupid and reckless or short tempered, and I can’t say that I feel completely safe with them having a gun in public. As for our university’s policy, I haven’t felt any less safe on campus because firearms are prohibited, and in fact knowing some of the people I know on campus I feel slightly safer knowing they shouldn’t have one. On a personal level, I live in Kutztown, which has a campus which does allow concealed carry and while I can’t recall any incidents of gun violence, given Kuztown’s notoriety for rowdiness the fact that guns could be added to that mix of drunk partying 20-somethings certainly worries me and I think its a miracle there hasn’t been an incident either on campus or in town involving gun violence.
I personally have never felt unsafe in the presence of a firearm. I grew up hunting and shooting at ranges so I started at a young age and got comfortable around firearms. I think guns are a great way to exercise personal freedoms that we are allowed in the United States. Now when guns get brought into public I start to feel uneasy. The thought of someone that I don’t know is carrying a concealed firearm is a scary thought, you don’t know what this person is thinking and why they have a gun. I guess I just don’t like this because firstly you don’t know if the persons licenced, and secondly if they are licensed you don’t know there experience with firearms. There are thousands of accidental shootings every year and it comes from either misuse of firearms or just not knowing how to maintain basic firearm safety.
I don’t know any one who concealed carries on campus nor do I concealed carry. I know one family friend that has a concealed permit but keeps the gun hidden and secure in their vehicle. I’m conflicted on this topic because I don’t believe that police should be the only armed ones on campus. Police response times just aren’t fast enough to stop armed assaults and mass shootings. In this instance a licensed citizen with a concealed carry is your best chance at safety. I guess in my opinion I am not opposed to concealed carry on or off campus. I just believe we need a more secure way to control firearm sales and concealed carry licenses, so that only responsible people can purchase and carry firearms.
After reading the portion of the article “Penn State Policy” in regards to campus carry, I agree with every aspect the policy states. The Penn State policy can have both, positive and negative effects/ outcomes if an active shooter were to occur on campus. The positive side effect in regards to the Penn State Policy of not allowing a student to carry a firearm on campus is if the student, who has a legal right on campus to carry a firearm were to all of a sudden lash out, resulting in an active shooter taking place. On Penn State Policy, student are not permitted to have a weapon on campus unless given to campus security. The negative effect of this is if a student were to (legally) have a concealed firearm on him/her then he or she can neutralize the active shooter, resulting in less fatalities on campus.
Personally, I don’t know anyone who carries a firearm on campus besides a family friend police officer. At my former school (Wilson High School) a police officer legally carries a concealed weapon on school grounds to protect the staff and students.
On campus, if I witnessed one of my fellow classmates carrying a concealed weapon, this would actually make me feel more shocked and frightened than safe. I say this because, I would be in a constant fear being more fixated on the fact that a student has a weapon on campus resulting in me not being able to focus on my school assignments at hand.
If Penn State were to change these rules, allowing students to carry on campus, I would only do the same if I witnessed other students with weapons themselves. If I had my own weapon I would feel more protected knowing that I have the means and willpower to protect myself in an active shooter situation.
I agree with this statement because police officers are trained to handle active shooter and emergency situations unlike a random student that has a lethal firearm and that student not knowing what to do in an emergency situation.
Many people in the united states (even my own loved ones) in fact do not own or carry a firearm. Ultimately, I don’t believe owning a firearm is mandatory for our own personal freedom and regulating firearms makes us as citizens in the United States safer and less at risk. Even with these regulations, U.S. citizens should have no issues when trying to obtain a weapons licence.
In the United States, gun violence is one of the most controversial topics of debate in society today. These topics of gun violence arise back in the spotlight after major active shooter incidents like Sandy Hook and the Las Vegas shooting for example. In my own lifetime, I have never met anyone who has been shot by a firearm.
Personally, I believe gun laws and access to guns should be further restricted to prevent more casualties of U.S. citizens. By adding more restricting laws and regulations to gun owners can possibly bring an end to active shootings all across america.
1.I think that it is a good idea for people to not be able to conceal carry weapons on campus. It allows everyone to feel safer knowing no one is allowed to carry a gun.
2.No i do not know anyone that carries a gun on campus.
3.No i do not know anyone that carries a gun on campus
4.No one i know carries so i don’t know
5.I don think that anyone who conceal carries is any different from anyone else.
6. I feel safer knowing that no one is aloud to carry. If i knew people were aloud to conceal carry i would be frightened to walk around campus cause you never know what people’s intentions are with guns.
7.No i wouldn’t want to because i wouldn’t want to frighten anyone with it and i wouldn’t like to see anyone else carrying one myself.
8.No i don’t feel like owning/carrying a gun is essential to my freedom. I feel perfectly fine with my freedom as it is now and i don’t own or carry a gun.
9.Yes i think gun violence is a big problem in the US. There are people getting shot all the time nowadays and it makes me worried to walk to the streets in certain places.
10.Yes my dad was shot in the stomach when he was in the military.
11.I do think gun access should be restricted and i think we should have more intense background checks and possibly even training courses or people to use guns.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
I feel that it is at the school’s discretion to deem whether or not concealed firearms are allowed on campus. I do agree with the campus policy that weapons are prohibited and that I really don’t see a need for anyone to carry one with them to class.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
I don’t know anyone on campus that carries on campus.
If you knew that a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm, how would feel about it?
I would definitely be averse to them carrying a weapon on campus regardless of it being prohibited.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
I feel that it would make me feel more unsafe than safe since like described in the article, the idea of the “potential gun” regardless of whether they truly have a gun or not would make me feel almost like a hostage. I would feel pressured and uneasy at the knowledge that most anyone could be carrying. I also feel that with the mixing pot of the mental stress of college and the firearms, it would potentially lead to some pretty adverse outcomes.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
No.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement: colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
I feel that police officers shouldn’t have to be armed on college campuses, but at the prospect that students or other people could be carrying while it is prohibited, then I feel that for the sake of protecting the innocent, officers should be armed.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your personal freedom?
No, I feel that the owning/carrying of a gun is not a requirement for freedom. I can however understand the ownership of a gun for home protection, but that would be about it.
Do you feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on your personal freedom?
No, I feel that there has not been enough done to regulate firearms. I believe that the sale of assualt rifles and military grade weapons are not necessary for civilians and that our government should enforce stricter background checks (as well as crackdown on the private sale of guns ie the type of gun sold and the quantity).
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
Yes. Gun violence has become ultimately a weekly occurence in our country. It seems that at least every 1-2 weeks I hear about another mass shooting and truly it is mind boggling how we still fail to progress on this issue as a country.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
No.
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
As detailed above, I definitely believe that gun access should be restricted. I feel that private sales of guns should be limited to non-military grade guns and nothing more than semi-automatic. The only real need for a gun should be for hunting and/or home protection, neither of which requires the purchase of an assualt rifle/machine gun.
– I think the university’s policy on carrying firearms is a little strict. I believe if the student completes a separate background check with the university and has the appropriate clearances, they should be permitted to carry a gun on campus. Although some campuses are small, police services cannot be everywhere at once so if by chance there is a threat on campus that person could neutralize the situation while awaiting help.
-I do not know anyone who conceals on campus
-I’m not sure how I would feel about someone carrying a prohibited firearm on campus. I guess it depends on who the person was.
-Again it depends on who is carrying. If it were limited to people such as active or ex-military or people with enough experience with guns I would feel safe. But if anyone who has a state permit to carry could carry on campus I wouldn’t feel safe.
-I don’t feel the need to carry on campus.
-The statement about campuses being safer when police are the only ones armed depends on the size of the campus and the police services on each campus
-I don’t find it necessary for my personal freedom to own a gun but others may feel differently
-I do believe that it should be harder for people to get possession of a firearm. It’s far too easy with the regulations set in place today
-I do think that gun violence is a problem in the United States. We have the most deaths in the world caused by guns.
-I personally do not know anyone who has been shot
-Gun access should at least be modified to make sure guns aren’t getting into the wrong hands
– I think the universities police on carrying concealed weapons is a bad idea. Especially with all of the mass shootings that occur not only in America but around the world. Police officers cannot be everywhere at once. It takes an average of 11 minutes for a police officer to respond to a call. It may not take that long on a campus like berks, but main campus, that could be the case. So a person concealing a weapon can neutralize a threat before police officers arrive on scene.
– I do not know anyone that conceals on a campus.
-I would not mind it, as long as I knew that classmate was skilled and has a lot of experience with handling firearms. I would encourage the classmate to not flaunt it around though. Someone may tell the authorities on them which could lead to consequences.
-It depends, if I knew the students where ex-military or have many years of experience with a firearm I would feel safe. Compared to someone who just buys a weapon, and does not know how to fire it properly or handle it.
-Yes I would, I feel like I would be making the campus safer, some may disagree with that statement. What happens when someone decides to start shooting at students on one side of the campus, while the police are on the other side of campus? I feel like I can make a difference by possibly stopping the shooter from taking lives.
-I disagree with that statement.
-Yes I do believe it is essential to freedom, it can also violate our 2nd amendment right.
-No I do not I do not own a gun.
-Yes it is a problem.
-No I do not know anyone who has been shot.
-I believe it is a little easy for some people to obtain a gun. It should stricter so that we do not put weapons into the wrong hands.
The university policy on carrying guns on campus is that whoever owns a gun and brings it to campus has to check it in with police services that hold onto it until you go home for the break, or if you go out shooting, or check it out. I actually do not know anybody who conceals/carries a gun on campus. If I knew a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm I would feel conflicted. The idea of other students carrying weapons does make me feel unsafe. While the students carrying the weapons might not mean any harm and feel safe carrying a weapon, we all don’t know their intentions with carrying said weapon. If the rules to carry a concealed weapon at a Penn State campus were changed I would still not want to carry a gun. The only people on campus that should carry a gun should be police services, professors, and any other adults that work for Penn State that have a valid government issued licenses. I agree with the statement that “colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed”. I believe that owning/carrying a gun is not essential to our personal freedom. I’m not saying that we should get rid of our right to carry a gun, I just believe that it isn’t an essential thing to our personal freedom. The attempts to regulate firearms is not an infringement on our personal freedom. While the government is regulating and making it stricter to have and carrying a gun, that should be no problem for anyone who is trying to own a gun is they have nothing to hide. Yes, I believe that gun violence is a problem in the United States. There are too many accidents and incidents where guns were used. I do not know anybody who has been shot at. Gun access should be restricted some more and have a better/longer screening process in order to get a gun.
1. I think that the policy is fair. As someone who has not grown up around guns, I am pretty scared of them. Even seeing a police officer with a gun freaks me out. I feel that seeing a student in class carrying a firearm, a machete or a bow and arrow would make me feel extremely uncomfortable and really distract me – especially knowing how unstable some people can be. I believe that college campuses are no place for students to carry weapons.
2. I have not met anyone on Penn State’s campus who carries, but I’m sure people do. How ever, at my last school, it was weird if you weren’t armed. Male and female students carried concealed firearms, huge pocket knives, pepper spray and tasers. A lot of these students kept at least 1-2 hand guns, 1-2 rifles, wall displays of hunting knives and another knife under their pillows in their apartments.
3. I would feel extremely uncomfortable. Weapons, especially ones that are prohibited for a reason, have a way of making me feel like I’m in more danger than I am safe.
4. Extremely unsafe. I think pepper spray and tasers are okay to have, but I really don’t trust other students with weapons that could kill me.
5. No, I wouldn’t. I feel that carrying a weapon is an enormous responsibility that I do not want to take on.
6. I agree. They are adults who hopefully grasp the amount of responsibility that they carry. Also, people hopefully become police to serve and protect.
7. Absolutely not. I feel that carrying a weapon makes people dangerous, not free.
8. No. I do think that humans will always find ways to kill each other but, at least through the attempts to regulate firearms, we are trying to decrease violence in our country.
9. Yes. I think it is. I think that there are too many unstable people who make rash decisions without considering the consequences.
10. No, I do not.
11. Yes, very much so. I am no exactly sure how but I do believe that there is always a solution.
— I think that people can find something else that defines their freedom other than guns and weapons. I also think that my trust issues with people who carry weapons and ear of guns might come from when I was younger – my little brother, maybe in middle school at the time, got mad at me for something, so he got his AK-47 paintball gun and shot me twice in the face and 12 more times in the back as I tried to run away. I’m just glad my parents didn’t have a real gun around
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
I feel that nobody on campus should be able to carry a gun except for the police and security guards. The reason I say that is because the campus would have to keep a record of each student in the campus that carry a gun. Some may even not register their gun and just say they did. Also, I would feel more secure knowing that there are not a lot of guns around me.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
At this moment I do not know a lot of people at school. I especially do not know anyone that lives on campus. So, my answer is that I do not know anyone that carries a gun on campus.
If you knew that a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm, how would feel about it?
If I knew a classmate was carrying a gun I would unsafe. I would also feel worried because I would not know exactly why they were carrying a gun that is what would scare me the most. Especially if they could become a danger to a specific student.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
Students carrying weapons would make me feel unsafe more than safe. The reason for that is you do not know why a person carries a gun or how they registered it. Especially knowing that people just buy guns just because they want to. All I would be scared of getting those people carrying guns mad because in the moment they might react a different way because they have possession of a gun.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
I would not carry a gun if the rules changed at Penn State campus. The reason for that is because the campus to me has shown how safe it is. For instance, if you feel unsafe there is the campus police in one building or public safety. So, someone is always there to help.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement: colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
I do believe that college is safer when only police are armed. The reason for that is because lots of people that own a gun do not really know how to use them properly. So, just leaving the officers in charge of being the only one armed reduces violence a lot more.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your personal freedom?
No, I believe that owning a gun does not represent my personal freedom. The reason for this is because having a gun will not determine my freedom.
Do you feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on your personal freedom?
I would like to say yes and no. The reason for this is because some people feel safe having their own guns while others do not need a gun to feel safe. It honestly depends on the person and what they value. I feel that they should not feel limited but they should at least be educated about their guns that they purchase.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
I do believe gun violence in the United States is a problem because so many people are buying guns after they hear about terrorize attacks and believe having a gun will make it safer but honestly what if these gun that was bought get stolen that is just adding more guns to criminals to do more crimes. You could even hear a couple of gunshots from my neighborhood.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
No, I have never met anyone that has been shot before.
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done? Yes, in certian places.
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that is not covered by these questions.
Personally speaking, I feel that the Penn State Berks Campus is so safe that it may not be necessary to carry a gun here. However, it could be different from another campus situation.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
– The policy at my campus does not really bother me. I guess I do think of the worst case scenario if there did need to be students who had weapons to stop a violent intruder, but otherwise, I am not all for or all against weapons to really have an opinion.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
– No. Not at all.
If you knew that a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm, how would feel about it?
– I think I would feel 50/50 on my concern level. With all of the shootings going on I would worry about my safety and of others, but then again, maybe that person is concerned for their safety as well to be carrying a prohibited weapon on campus.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
– I would feel 50/50.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
– I personally would not. I don’t have my permit to carry for one and I am currently not comfortable with carrying a weapon around in public.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement: colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
– Agree. Police officers are trained to carry weapons. Although again, there are those officers who take advantage of the power and/or get trigger happy when they should not. Regardless, I would feel safer with officers being armed than students who are stressed, emotional, and unpredictable more than officer.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your personal freedom?
– No.
Do you feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on your personal freedom?
– No. I know the government tries to control everything and uses violence to control more, but I think there can be a balance of still allowing people to carry weapons, but putting a process to help weed out unstable people of being able to carry a weapon is not a bad thing.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
– No. I think the media just focuses on more negatives than the positives. It has been proven in statistics that the world is safer than it was years ago. There is a problem with gun violence, but I can’t say it is any worse than what it was before because the media just talks about bad things.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
– No. Not personally.
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
– I don’t think gun access should be restricted, but a process should be put in place, just like there is one for getting a license to drive. I think that would totally make sense, also being aware that it will not solve the problem with illegal selling and buying of weapons.
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that are not covered by these questions.
I feel that if a person is legally able to carry a weapon, they should be able to. It is legal in the state of Pennsylvania to carry with a permit, so if they have a permit, they should be able to do so. I do not know anyone who carries on campus. Most of the people I know are under the legal age to carry, so if they were carrying without a permit I’d feel very unsafe, but if they were legal to do so, I would feel much more safe, especially if anything ever happened. The idea of legal students carrying a weapon on campus makes me feel safe, and if more weapons are on campus, legally of course, it makes Penn State less of a target to insane people that could have ideas of shooting up a campus. I would like to see the rules changed, I would like to see them changed because if there ever is an active shooter I’d like to know that there is someone on campus that can do something except for the Police force. I disagree with the statement that colleges are safer when only the Police have weapons. I feel that owning a gun is essential to my personal freedom. Yes, I feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on my personal freedom. I feel that gun violence is a problem in certain areas of the country, mostly in cities. I know multiple people that have been shot at but no one that has ever been hit by a shot. I think nothing should be done to restrict access to a normal, legal citizen, criminals will always find ways to get weapons, taking them from good people will only hurt this country.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
-I agree with the university’s police on not allowing to carry on campus just for the simple fact that college is already a stressful place as it is. If you all of a sudden decide to allow weapons on campus, I believe that the risk of something happening, even if its just an accidental discharge, is too high to allow it.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
– No, I do not know anyone who conceal/carries on campus
If you knew that a classmate was carrying a prohibited concealed firearm, how would feel about it?
– Obviously allow the right people to become aware of the situation, or talk to the individual and school him in some knowledge to let them know it is prohibited.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
– If other students are allowed to carry a weapon on campus then I will be carrying as well. Makes me feel a whole lot safer if I am carrying. Just like anywhere else, you have no idea the mental state of individuals and what someone may do.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
-If the rules on campus changed for campus carry I would carry. I would do this for my safety and for the safety’s of others in case something horrific were to happen. You feel a lot safer if you have a means to protect yourself or a full proof egress route to safety. But if the rules were to change, I believe that the campus should require mandatory classes of instructions to students who want to carry. To inform the students of proper weapons handling and safety. As well as the actions to take during active shooters, or another situation the school see fit to teach about.
Do you agree or disagree with the statement: colleges are safer when police officers are the only ones armed.
– I believe that the police officers are there on campus to protect us and will arrive on scene as soon as possible to help the students and faculty.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your personal freedom?
– I believe it is essential for my own personal freedom because you never know when you will be put into a situation where you have to help others and sometimes a weapon is what you need to help out. I have my conceal license and I prefer to everyday carry.
Do you feel that attempts to regulate firearms represent an infringement on your personal freedom?
-I think that with all the bad that has happened in the world it is only instinct for people to go after firearms. I believe we need to focus more on mental health of a way to regulate firearms. But even with that, people fall through the cracks and they find a way to purchase or steal firearms.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
-Yes
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
– I think it is incredible hard to try and restrict gun access. I feel things have been done in the right direction but i feel like nothing is going to be a “full proof” plan. No matter what there will always be a bad guy with a gun.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
– I agree with the university’s policy that prohibits concealing and carrying a weapon on campus. I personally would not feel comfortable coming to campus everyday if I knew it was permitted I don’t believe guns and weapons should be allowed on school property. There is already so much stress and high emotion at schools/colleges, if you throw weapons into the mix and there could be negative consequences. Also most people attending college are under 21, which is the age you need to be to carry a concealed weapon.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus….more than 1, more than 2, more than 3?
– No i do not, as it is not permitted at my campus. If anyone did carry and conceal on campus I doubt they would be making it known since it is prohibited.
Of the people that you know who conceal carry on campus, are they handguns or shotguns/rifles? Do they carry in their car or on their person (this includes a backpack)?
– N/A
How do you feel about your peers’ decisions to conceal carry on campus when it is prohibited?
– If I knew that someone was conceal carrying on my campus when it is prohibited I would not agree. I would feel unsafe and worry about the individual. Since they would be breaking the law already by conceal carrying, I would wonder what else they would be bold enough to do.
Do you feel that the decision to conceal carry at Penn State might correlate with one’s college major? If yes, please explain along with any other social factors that you think might be associated with the decision to conceal carry firearms on campus.
– No I don’t think it would correlate with their college major at all. I think if one chose to conceal carry when it’s prohibited, it would have more correlation to how their were raised, if they’ve been in trouble before and/or mental illness.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
– The idea makes me feel unsafe. We have campus security and police for protection if it would be needed, not other students with weapons.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
– No, I don’t own a gun or intend to.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your freedom?
– No, not for me. I don’t own or intend to own a gun, but I have friends and family members who own and carry.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
– I think it is a problem, but even if stricter laws are put in place, people who would use guns to do harm would find a way to get them regardless.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
– No
Do you think gun access should be restricted? What do you think might be done to better regulate access? Or do you think nothing should be done?
– I think there could be something done to make sure everyone who owns or buys a firearm has a background check. People get by that all the time, or their friend or family member buys a gun for someone who can’t pass a background check. I think the responsibility should be on that individual who assisted in a gun purchase without a background check. I don’t believe people who can pass a background check should have any harder trouble getting access to guns though, it is their right to own and carry if they meet the criteria.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
– I do not think we should carry guns/weapons on campus and that only the police officers here or any type of security group should be able to carry any kind of weapon for safety purposes of others on campus.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
– No I do not know anyone who carries on campus.
How do you feel about your peers’ decisions to conceal carry on campus when it is prohibited?
– I do not know anyone who carries on campus, but if they did I would not think it is a good idea because of the fact that it is prohibited.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
– It makes me feel unsafe because nobody knows if they even know how to use that weapon and what they would use it for. Seeing in the news all the issues that carrying on campus has caused, I would feel unsafe if I knew people carried on this campus.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
– No I would not because I do not know how to use one and I just would not like to carry one around.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your freedom?
– No I do not because we all have freedom and having or not having a gun does not determine our freedom.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
– Yes I think gun violence is a problem because on the news there is always stories about shootings all over the place for no reason. Most people that pull the trigger do not know how to use guns and are just dumb or mentally unstable. But regardless of all of that there are shootings almost everyday and it is ridiculous how many people die because of it.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
– No I have never been shot.
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
– I do think gun access should be restricted and that people who own guns should have some type of training on how to use them. Also they should probably have a test that test their mental stability. I know this is hard to keep track of and obtain, but something should be restricted because there are way too many shootings and killings that happen because of gun related violence that it seems to be getting out of hand.
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that are not covered by these questions.
– I have no other comments.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
I think my university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus is very good, only the security and relative group can carry a gun.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
i don’t know any of them.
How do you feel about your peers’ decisions to conceal carry on campus when it is prohibited?
most of my friends think it’s ok, even support it.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
if other students carry guns in campus will make me pretty nervous and surely unsafe.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
I will do it for safety if every one around carry a gun.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your freedom?
i don’t think carrying a gun is essential to my freedom.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
gun violence is the biggest safety problem in this nation.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
no
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
I agree that gun access should be restricted.
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that are not covered by these questions.
N/A
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
I am kind of split on the decision of concealing and carrying guns, firearms and weapons on campus. It very well makes sense as why there is a rule against it on campus, but on the other hand it is a constitutional right to bear arms and the university’s policy does stand in the way of it. So, in all honesty, I am unsure how I feel.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus?
I do not know anyone who conceals/carries on campus.
How do you feel about your peers’ decisions to conceal carry on campus when it is prohibited?
I do not know anyone who conceals/carries on campus.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
Similarly, to my answer to the first question, I am split on the decision. You truly do not know anyone’s intentions, especially if they are carrying on campus. On the other hand, if something were ever to happen it would make me feel safe knowing someone has a weapon.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
I would not conceal on campus regardless if the rules were changed. I just personally do not think I would want to have it on campus since I am split on comfort of the subject as it is.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your freedom?
I would not say essential to your freedom, but I would definitely say that it is important embracement of freedom. Many people have grown up in areas where everyone carries and to them it would absolutely be essential to their freedom, but where I am from I would not say so.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
I think it’s a problem because it is happening in public places. If it were on a private location it would be bad but I feel like that is more so where the second amendment comes into play because your defending your property and or yourself.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
Yes, my grandfather was shot at. He is a retired police officer.
Do you think gun access should be restricted? Or do you think nothing should be done?
Maybe it should be restricted more, but I honestly cannot think of any options that could be done to improve the current situation of gun access.
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that are not covered by these questions.
All I would say is I think Penn State Berks does a good job at making students on campus feel safe versus many other schools across the country, so maybe other campuses can learn from the way Berks does things.
Guns on campus that are carried by civilians should not be allowed. There has been very few incidents of mass destruction and it may cause students to be uncomfortable. As of right now I do not know anyone that carries a concealed weapon campus but I have seen police officers take classes and have a weapon concealed. I feel that if a peer brings a concealed weapon and it is prohibited that is a terrible choice. It is against school policy and could cause severe punishment. The idea of students walking around campus makes me feel unsafe. In the society we live in now with all of these mass destruction events occurring the carrying of a concealed weapon only would provoke people more. I would not want to carry a concealed weapon if Penn State changed their policy. I feel that carrying/owning a gun is not essential to my freedom at all! Gun violence in the United States has indeed become a major problem and will not be resolved anytime soon. Guns are easily acquired and most people can get them legally, this is what causes the gun violence. I have never met anyone that has been shot. Gun access should be earned and a privilege instead of being given out so easily. Not everyone is mentally stable or equipped to carry a weapon.
I think that the University has a good policy when it comes to guns. I do not know anyone who carries on campus. I feel like they need to follow the policies, they were obviously put in place for a reason. It makes me feel unsafe because as of today there haven’t been any incidents that I know of, and I feel like if students would carry them one might occur. No, I would not want to carry on campus even if I could, because I feel like guns are something that shouldn’t be in the school system. I don’t necessarily think that it is essential, but it is something that you should be able to pick too or not to carry. Gun violence is definitely a problem in the US. I do not personally know anyone who has been shot. I think that gun access should definitely have some kind of training to go with carrying a gun, as well as background checks. Another thing I think would help reduce gun accidents is making everyone lock their guns up.
I do not believe that guns should be allowed on campus, I would not in anyway feel safe going to school with someone that was carrying a firearm with them to and from class. Also I do not see any real use of feeling the need to carry them around with you all day. Personally I do not know anyone on campus that is conceal carrying, that is of my knowledge. Of those that still choose to conceal carry on campus even though it is prohibited, my questions are why? Why do you find it necessary to carry a gun around a college campus that is protected by security, does it make you and your ego feel better? Self- esteem thing? No I do not feel that just because one would have a major that relates to firearms should they for that reason be able to conceal carry on campus. The idea that one would even want to conceal carry on campus is very frightening to me as I before stated. If the rules were to change on Penn state campus I would absolutely not carry. I do not feel that owning a gun is essential to my freedom, but I get that everyone is different and even though I am very against guns that does not mean that others feel differently and might need it to feel free in this country. Gun violence in the United States is a problem, but the chances anything will be done about it are very slim. I do not know anyone who has ever been shot before. I do think something needs to be done about who is and who is not allowed to carry a firearm, and why is it still allowed to be sold on in the black market in Tennessee.
What do you think about your university’s policy on the concealing and carrying of guns, firearms, and weapons on campus?
-I think that it’s ridiculous that students are not allowed to conceal carry, I believe it is the constitutional right of everyone on this campus to have the right to carry if they wish.
Do you know anyone who conceals/carries on campus? Do you know more than one person who conceals/carries on campus….more than 1, more than 2, more than 3?
-No I do not because the campus does not allow it, also almost everyone I know here is younger then 21 which would make it illegal.
Of the people that you know who conceal carry on campus, are they handguns or shotguns/rifles? Do they carry in their car or on their person (this includes a backpack)?
-As previously stated, I don’t know anyone who carries on campus, but if I were to be able to and I was of age I would have a rifle in my car and my main sidearm in an appendix style holster and my back up in my ankle holster.
How do you feel about your peers’ decisions to conceal carry on campus when it is prohibited?
-Nobody does so I can’t really say anything.
Do you feel that the decision to conceal carry at Penn Stae might correlate with one’s college major? If yes, please explain along with any other social factors that you think might be associated with the decision to conceal carry firearms on campus.
-I don’t think that anyone who conceal carries is any different then anyone else. We’re all different but the older people I know that carry off campus are normal men and women, all with normal jobs and normal lives.
Does the idea of other students carrying weapons on campus make you feel safe? Does it make you feel unsafe?
-I would feel more safe yes, I would carry if I could and I feel that anyone that does carry would help in any bad situation that would arise.
Would you want to conceal carry on the Penn State campus if the rules were changed? If so, why?
-Absolutely I would, I would legally carry because I want to keep myself and my friends safe, I want to be able to be ready to fight in a gunfight if someone tried to kill me or my friends.
Do you feel that owning and/or carrying a gun is essential to your freedom?
-I do yes, people that have a constitutional right and not being able to is a breach of their freedom.
Do you think gun violence is a problem in the United States?
-I think stupid people with guns make stupid decisions. Guns don’t kill, people kill people, I was just reading an article about the Texas church shooting and saw that the two men who helped take down the shooter were just common guys with ar-15’s, they used their right to kill a man who wanted to harm innocents.
Have you ever known anyone who has been shot?
-I have and my brother has, we’ve both been shot by ricochets on firing ranges. I’ve never known anyone to get shot in a gunfight.
Do you think gun access should be restricted? What do you think might be done to better regulate access? Or do you think nothing should be done?
-I do not think access should be restricted, I think if you own a weapon you should be able to carry it and have access to it.
Finally, if you don’t know anyone that conceals and carries a firearm on campus, you can simply share any other thoughts you might have on the subject that are not covered by these questions.
-All I have to say is that carrying should be allowed, If someone came on to campus to kill people, I wouldn’t want to rely on cops being late and more people dying. I would stop the threat and save lives.