Campus no place for firearms

I have no idea what happened to the comments. No one has been on the admin system today, and I assure you we only delete comments if they are threatening, against the law, etc. Nothing would have been deleted from this page.

I will check on this immediately and figure out what the issue is.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Ashley Carnifax
Online News Editor

Fantastic evidence you have there. So because one meat-headed LEO shot himself in a classroom while improperly handling a firearm, we're all going to shoot ourselves in class? Newsflash: Guns don't just fire randomly. The trigger needs to be pulled. Holsters have trigger guards that keep the trigger from being pulled while the weapon is concealed. I carry my gun on me everywhere I go (aside from school, and other places the State of Florida has deemed illegal, such as professional sporting events). More people than your left-winged psyche would care to know carry guns around you on a daily basis. When was the last time one just went off?

On that note, what makes a classroom so much different from Publix, my car, or my office? Do classrooms magically make guns fire without provocation? I am trained how to safely handle a firearm. I am over 21 years of age, the required age by the state of Florida to purchase a handgun, and carry a weapon concealed by permit. I've gone through FBI background checks, I've been fingerprinted, taken written tests, shown proficiency in handling a firearm, and have been granted the right to carry a concealed weapon by the state of Florida. What makes a college campus so much different any other place you go on a daily basis? The only thing I can think of is that it's got a big target on it's back. Criminals don't care about laws, they bring weapons anyways. Look at our to-be star lineman, Jose Jose. Caught with a concealed weapon at 18 years old. Do you really think the campus police will be there in time when some crazed gunman starts firing to stop him in his tracks? No. Precious minutes will be wasted while they stroll over to their cars and leisurely drive on over. People WILL die. Lots of them, depending on how distrubed that individual is. The UCF police department's response time is.....welll....less than outstanding.

Are people who carry guns paranoid? No. I bet if you had a conversation with me off campus you would never know that I'm a "gun toting Republican" and that I more than likely have a subcompact firearm tucked inside my waistband in a holster. It's legal, and I do it. I know that the police will not be able to protect me in a split second self defense situation. Did you know that most LEO (law enforcement officers) are pro-concealed weapons permits? They want the general public to arm themselves, because they know that they cannot always be there. Therefore, I carry for the safety of myself, my girlfriend, and my family. I will NEVER draw my weapon to level an argument. I will never even mention that I have a weapon in my possession. But I was to be attacked with deadly force, then I will defend myself as the law says I can.

All the empirical evidence indicates that the opposite is true. When responsible citizens are lawfully allowed to be armed, violence typically decreases. It is the possession of weapons by the criminally irresponsible, especially in the presence of an unarmed general populace, that that increases violence. And that is what the banning of concealed carry on campuses creates. The ban only stops the responsible people who are not a threat to the safety of the campus community. There is no actual mechanism to prevent a person who intends to violate the ban from doing so. So all the ban does is disarm those who would carry a weapon responsibly while allowing the irresponsible to do as they please.

In the early 1980s, few states allowed citizens to carry concealed firearms legally, and most of those had highly restrictive requirements for obtaining a license to do so. Today, all but two states allow concealed carry, and the overwhelming majority are "shall issue", meaning that any person who is not prohibited from purchasing a handgun can apply and get a license. Two states currently require no license at all, and at least three more currently have legislation pending to drop the license requirement.

Given all that, our violence statistics should have gone up over that same period of time if your premise was correct. Instead, we've seen a remarkably steady DECLINE in violent crime, gun crime, and even gun accidents in the same period. So all the fears about increased violence, increased crime, and even accidental injuries do not hold up to factual scrutiny. Carrying a gun is a big responsibility, and generally responsible people who decide to do so recognize this. So when they decide to start carrying, they tend to take it seriously and the numbers show that they are involved in less violence, less crime, and fewer accidents than virtually any other segment of the population.

I know people here are saying it's an issue of their freedom but there are serious consequences when it comes to guns. All it takes is a few shots fired by either one nut or irresponsible person to end someone's life.

With that said, I’m sure one of the other readers will find errors in my own post. So, allow me to repeat myself- please make an *effort*. There are no grammar police here, but there should be some amount of self-respect. The Future took the time to write a clear and well-written "Stance." Even if you disagree, you can do so without making this look like 4chan.

P.S. The UCF Police Department should not be realistically counted upon in any situation besides traffic violation enforcements. Simply pull up their statistics for "crimes reported/arrests made" to verify.