More letters and such from the James Madison University student paper "The Breeze".
Letter: In Defense of Gun Rights Week
Letter: In Defense of Gun Rights Week
Letter: In Defense of Gun Rights Week
Posted By Letters to the Editor On February 26, 2009 @ 1:19 am In Opinion | No Comments
I have heard many people condone the JMU College Republicans and Students for Concealed Carry on Campus for hosting Gun Rights Week. It is no secret that most students at JMU disapprove of the notion that students should be allowed to carry on campus. Most people fear those who would carry guns, and are worried that a “wild west” situation would occur that results in mass chaos. This is simply untrue. Look at these facts:
* In states that allow concealed carry, total violent crime is 13 percent lower, homicide is 3 percent lower, robbery is 26 percent lower and aggravated assault is 7 percent lower (A 1996 FBI Uniform Crime Report)
* Since Florida instituted concealed carrying in 1987, less than 0.02 percent of Florida carry permits have been revoked because of gun crimes committed by license holders (Florida Dept. of State)
* In the 31 states that now have “concealed right to carry” laws, murders were down, on average, by 8.5 percent (National Center for Policy Analysis).
* Rapes were down 5 percent and serious assaults by 7 percent (NCPA)
* In cities with populations of more than 250,000, murder rates dropped after the passage of such laws by an average of 13.5 percent (NCPA).
These are just some statistics. But overall, they show that crime goes down when concealed carrying is allowed. In Utah, for example, they allow concealed carrying on college campuses. Do we ever hear of out-of-control crime? Of course not. To bring this closer to home, Blue Ridge Community College allows concealed carrying, and they have not had problems with the policy. The truth of the matter is that people have false assumptions of what may happen. It is not those who abide by the law we need to worry about, but the criminals who do not.
Kyle Jacobs
Freshman political science major