By Guest Commentary
I praise the Oregon Court of Appeals for lifting the ban on concealed carry handguns on publicly-owned university campuses. I feel those who take the responsibility of carrying a firearm legally should be allowed to do so under the established guidelines set forth by the state. Carrying a gun falls under the second amendment, the right to bear arms and to defend ourselves if necessary. There are many who oppose allowing concealed guns on campus, and I would like to shed light onto why I feel guns should be allowed on campus. First, let's evaluate the meaning of this lift. This ruling allows a person with a valid state approved Concealed Carry Weapons Permit (CCWP)/License to Carry a Firearm (LCTF)/Concealed Handgun License (CHL) to carry a firearm on a publicly owned college campus. In order for an individual to obtain this licensing in the state of Oregon, there are several requirements. They must be a citizen of the United States, 21 years of age or older, not a convicted felon, not convicted or found guilty of a misdemeanor, have no outstanding warrants for arrest and demonstrate competence with a handgun per ORS 166.291 (f). The individual must also pay a $65 sheriff's fee and $15 for a background check, as well as be finger printed and photographed by the sheriff's department. They must then take a class given by a law enforcement officer or licensed instructor and take a test to prove their competence using a handgun. Thus making the licensee, in the eyes of the state, trained. Oregon will only recognize a CHL issued by the state of Oregon, and no other states' CHL are recognized as legal in Oregon. Second, concealed carry only applies to small group of people on college campuses. CHL holders must be 21 or older. Therefore only juniors, seniors and faculty and staff are eligible to even attempt obtaining a CHL. Another reason people fear this lift is the premise of having a large armed student population. This is absurd, only those in the above group who choose to responsibly exercise that right have the option to carry a gun. Third, many people argue it is unnecessary or even pointless to have a gun on campus. However there are countless cases that show how students with a CHL acted to stop a crime, for example: on Sept. 20, 2011 a Temple student with a LCTF stopped a robber attempting to break into his house. On Oct. 16, 2008 an Arizona student shot two intruders in self defense. On Aug. 9, 2008 a Citadel student scared off a bat wielding road rage driver. There are many cases on this manner and I would direct your attention to either http://concealedcampus.org/ or TheArmedCitizen's YouTube channel for further information about CHL holders who prevented a crime. Many say their campus and others are safe as it stands now, but someone said the same thing at Virginia Tech. We can only speculate, but what if there was a responsible CHL holder in that situation, how many lives could they have saved? How long does it take to call 911 and have the police show up, compared to pulling out a handgun and stopping someone by either showing that you are armed, or if necessary, shooting them? Fourth, another common argument is that alcohol and drugs do not mix with guns, and I agree with that statement. However, alcohol and/or drugs combined with vehicles seem to unfortunately kill more innocent people than guns and alcohol. Far more people are killed due to intoxicated driving than intoxicated gun handling. How many times do you hear about someone loosing their life to a DUI or texting while driving compared to a gun and alcohol incident? People argue that guns are more dangerous than cars I say they are equal. There are people that are not responsible enough with either a car or gun, a person could fire a gun at a party just as easily as they could get into a car and drive somewhere while intoxicated. With owning either of these items comes great responsibility, and some people have more than others. Institutions can place as many laws and rules as they like, but that will not stop some people, especially criminals. It comes down to trusting the state and those who made the guidelines to allow people to have the respective licenses. I feel that a person who legally obtained a CHL should have the ability to use it on campus. They are taking up a heavy burden of responsibility dealing with a firearm, especially while carrying concealed. I give my respect to those who put others' safety ahead of theirs, and carrying a gun legally shows they are willing to act to save or prevent an innocent from being harmed. Take into account what is needed to even attempt this route of responsibility and look at the information provided. Currently the states of Utah, Colorado, West Virginia and soon Wisconsin allow concealed carry in some capacity on campuses, and I have not heard of any incident where a student from those states that had a CHL acted recklessly or endangered lives with a gun. Douglas Chun is a senior civil engineering major. He can be contacted at chun12@up.edu.
