This time 10 years ago, our nation was reeling over the massacres at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. This time two years ago, our country was in shock over the shooting at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
So, why is it that on the anniversary of these two tragedies some Connecticut college students are protesting for the right to carry a concealed weapon?
Students at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. and Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn. want the ability to carry a concealed weapon on them at all times. Their justification for this is that they want to be able to protect themselves against another Columbine or Virginia Tech type of attack.
Some UConn and CCSU students carried empty gun holsters on their waists to support their pro-pistol standpoint and to draw attention to their position on the issue.
I find the timing of their protest tactless and the reasoning behind the protest absurd.
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a massacre at Columbine High School. They killed 12 students and a teacher. They also wounded 23 people before they committed suicide. It’s the fourth deadliest school massacre in United States history.
On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people at Virginia Tech over the course of two hours before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide. It was the deadliest shooting incident by a single person in U.S. history.
Regardless of whether this was a public relations stunt on behalf of the protesting students, it was thoughtless to those who had been affected by these tragic incidents.
Colleen O’Leary, a sophomore at CCSU, felt the protesting students weren’t being disrespectful.
“I think that most of them believe that what they are doing is right,” O’Leary said. “I think they chose to do it on the anniversary to raise awareness for the situation and to make a point that this can happen anywhere and that they want to be able to protect themselves if it happened at CCSU.”
If people like Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold and Seung-Hui Cho, who were all dangerous and able to so easily obtain guns, why would it be a good idea to make weapons more readily available? More weapons are not a solution to this fear.
While I don’t agree with these students, I can understand where they’re coming from. They want to feel protected, as does everyone. There are a lot of sick and dangerous people in this world, even walking around your college campus. Why fuel the fire by making it legal for them to carry a concealed weapon?
O’Leary agreed. “I think there are a lot of other ways to protect ourselves in the case of an emergency. We can have more police on campus. We can create safer and more efficient evacuation routes and lockdown procedures. More guns are not the answer,” she said.
More guns are never the answer, especially when it comes to students.
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