Gun violence in the United States

Recently, the debate on gun laws and campus security and safety has become ominous, with a group known as Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), which began peacefully protesting for the right to carry a concealed firearm on campus by wearing empty holsters. The University Chronicle just published a story on SCCC. There was also discussion on the same issue at the conservative SCSU scholars blog. In addition, the editorial board for the University Chronicle published an opinion regarding SCCC and the College Republicans, and their choice to support conceal and carry weapon (CCW) laws. I challenged some the allegations and supposed facts the board made, and expect my opinion to be published in the Tuesday edition.

With campus shootings such as the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 being on the minds of many students and professors, some, such as SCCC, advocate for CCW laws that would permit students and faculty to carry firearms on their person while on campus. The idea is that an armed student body will be able to take down a madman before he is able to wreak havoc, and that an unarmed student body is like a pond of sitting ducks.

On the other hand, there are those who say we need tougher laws to stop lunatics from being able to access the guns. They argue that less guns will result in less gun violence. Conversely, they claim that if more people were armed on campus, there would be a greater chance of deaths or more opportunities for school shootings.

Your opinions and thoughts?