Need opinions on guns @ schools & colleges

[Miztiki]

Inpire me, please. I need arguments/opinions for and against guns on campus/school grounds for a Rogerian Argument essay.

[myboyz]

A comprehensive list of campus shootings with stats, reaction times, etc. May be useful in dispelling the myth that police and security can protect you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school-related_attacks

The Virginia Tech stats were: 170 rounds shot in 9 minutes, 31 dead.
3 minutes for the police to get across campus, another 5 minutes spent breaking into the building. Campus security was picking their nose trying to find out what was happening through their “reliable” communication systems and 2 hours later they were filled in.

[myboyz]

I explored the psychological and socialization aspects of this (NOTE: I am writing about this topic too, so if you see my stuff elsewhere, I gave it to you, didn’t steal it)

I believe that women, in particular, have been made paranoid and to fear guns all our lives. So the gun free zones target us specifically, they are the places we go, with our kids. The old government ploy that they are protecting our kids is so deep seeded it is ridiculous because there are plenty of women today who have both kids and guns in the household with no problem.

Anyway, a psychiatrist has come up with a very good explanation for the fear (hoplophobia) epidemic. SHE came up with an explanation based on the common defense mechanisms we use every day of our lives to explain the mishaps and good and bad things that happen to us. Here is the article, it should help in your Rogerian argument format. http://www.louisianacarry.org/articles/psych.htm

[myboyz]

Some of the positive campus outcomes to use: In Edinboro, Pa., a 14-year-old middle-school student opened fire at a school graduation dance held at a local restaurant. The shooter killed one teacher and wounded two students and another teacher. The armed teenager was apprehended by the restaurant owner, who grabbed his own shotgun from his office. Staring into the shotgun, the teen dropped his gun and surrendered.

In Pearl, Miss., a 16-year-old sophomore entered Pearl High with a hunting rifle under his overcoat. He opened fire, killing two students and wounding seven. Assistant Principal Joel Myrick, ran to his truck and retrieved the .45 automatic he kept there. Running back, he spotted the shooter in the parking lot. Ordering the teen to stop, the vice principal put his gun to the shooter's neck and held him until police arrived.

At Appalachian Law School, in Grundy, Va., a disgruntled student on the verge of his second suspension entered a school building and shot and killed the dean and a professor. He then shot four students, killing one. Hearing the shots, two students, Michael Gross and Tracy Bridges, ran to their cars to retrieve their guns. With guns aimed at the shooter, Mr. Bridges ordered him to drop his weapon. When the shooter turned and saw Mr. Bridges' gun, he laid down his weapon and put his hands in the air.(My pro-Second Amendment documentary, "Michael and Me," goes into detail about this incident, as well as others.) Professor and economist John Lott checked 280 separate news stories in the week after the Appalachian Law School shooting, and only found four that mentioned the students who stopped the shooter had guns. The Washington Post, for example, said the students "helped subdue" the killer. Newsday wrote the shooter was "restrained by students." The Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, however, wrote that the shooter "was wrestled to the ground by fellow students, one of whom aimed his own revolver at [the killer]." Four months later, the Times-Dispatch detailed the students' actions, including the second student's use of a gun. -------------------------------------- At the University of Texas, where students and faculty used their own firearms to fight back against student Charles Whitman (1966).

[Miztiki]

I just came back to review the comments as I continue to work on my paper. I’m so glad you posted. I will check your links too. I have much to say but I’m running out of time and need to get this done.

Thank you for your help!

[myboyz]

I write my own curriculum, I’m also involved in state-wide movements to change curriculum and meet the needs of industry. I am slowly getting the conservative views into the schools (community college and high school, mainly).

[myboyz]

Good luck, let us know how it turns out, post your paper, if you can/want to.

[myboyz]

The problem with using the “car free zone” argument is driving a car is a privilege, it doesn’t say in our constitution the right to drive a vehicle. However, it does say in our constitution the right to life and to keep and bear arms to protect our selves.

Side note: same thing with education, it is a privilege.

[Still Thinking]

First, I don’t buy the “driving a car is a privilege, not a right” viewpoint, but it’s irrelevant for this thread anyway. If driving is less a right than carrying a gun, and it would be thought absurd to ban cars from schools, how much more so should it be thought absurd to ban guns? QED

[Miztiki]

Thanks, I need the luck! So far, it’s not Rogerian in tone at all. I am quickly running out of time to work on this. The focus keeps shifting to my constitutional rights, or my anger shows through. Uunnnggghhh...

[Still Thinking]

Maybe you could make it a little more “Rogerian” by stating that if we let the hoplophobic pussies set the debate terms, we’re “Rogered”. How’s that?