Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones Opposes Use of M16 on Kent State University Campus
CLEVELAND, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- According to yesterday's Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kent State University has purchased a modified version of the M16A2 rifle to be used as an upgrade of the Marlin Camp 9mm rifles currently in use on the campus. The Military version of the M16A2 rifle is an automatic weapon. The version issued to the Kent State University Campus Police only shoots one round of ammunition at a time. According to various Ohio college campus security officials, unlike a pistol in which the bullet shoots straight out of the barrel, the bullet spirals when shot through the barrel of an M16 rifle, which may cause more severe damage to a human being and is more likely to ricochet and injure others not in the line of fire. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones is opposed to the use of this type of weaponry on our college campuses.
"I feel the use of such weaponry is totally unnecessary on a college campus. Having seen the unrest that has taken place at Kent State University in the past with the May 4th, 1970 shootings in which 4 people were killed, bringing this type of weaponry back to any campus could possibly do more harm than good," states Congresswoman Tubbs Jones.
"Having people in my district who work and attend Kent State University, I am concerned with how this change in campus security will effect their safety."
Most colleges in the 11th District including John Carroll University and Case Western Reserve University do not allow campus security to carry rifles with the exception of Cleveland State University's Campus Police who are fully-armed with pistols and have access to shotgun firearms.
SOURCE Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones
