Refusing to Be a Victim Essay

The Virginia Tech Massacre was one of the deadliest shooting incidents by a single gunman (MSNC). With a bright future ahead, Reema Samaha was an 18 year-old freshman on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Physic totallyy beautiful, excellent academic performance, proud of her Lebanese culture, future graduate of international studies and a minor in French, talented contemporary dancer, full of life, but a sea wolf decided to end her life on April 16, 2007 (We Remember biographies). She was murdered among 32 other students and staff. She was trapped in her French class with no gun with which to protect herself. Guns on campus should be allowed based on the right to bear weapons system authorized in the United States Constitution, the increasing violence on campus, the impossible mission to protect all the students by campus police, and the Gun-Free Zone sticker that attracts the killers. The second amendment under the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution has protected the right of the people to keep and bear arms since 1791 (Head).It protects an individuals right to possess and use a firearm for lawful purposes, such as self-defense. It is unlawful to bear arms to participate in a militia or to use for unlawful purposes. If mortal enters my property without invitation, it is my right, under the second amendment, to use a gun against a trespasser. One of the foundations that you acquire when you are a mother is to protect your loved ones at any cost if somebody attacks them. In the face of economic distress and the resulting risk for violence, the ability to protect oneself as allowed under the Constitution is increasingly of import and must not be abridged. One example of that violence is sexual assaults on college campuses where nine occur each day. Also, there were 16 sniper victims at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966, 32 at Virginia Tech in 2007, five at Northern Illinois Univer sity in 2008, one at Virginia Tech in 2011, and cardinal at San Jose State University in 2011 (Infoplease) What protection did the schools offer? The only option for the victim is to play dead or huddle under a desk hoping that the killer will not shoot them.Unfortunately, there is before long no alternative to simply hiding and praying that the bad guy will give you grace. Protecting all the students is an impossible mission for universities. Campus officials yield introduced several responses to the problem of campus crime. Campus police, textmess progress alerts and cameras are all excellent ideas that improve responsiveness, but responsiveness is not the akin as readiness. Text messages are unsuccessful, police are spread out across huge campuses and cameras have proven ineffective. Universities are open environments with indiscernible boundaries and hardly a(prenominal) procedures to prevent or deal with a calamitous event. Colleges cannot guarantee protection or eliminate armed assaults. It is unrealistic to expect colleges to provide airport-like security with boundary line enforcement, metal detectors, armed guards, bag inspections and pat downs. Therefore, any institutions that cannot provide protection for their visitors must not deprive students of the ability to protect themselves. The Free-Gun Zone does not make its desired purpose. In fact, Gun-Free Zone sign attracts killers. Congress adopted the Gun-Free School Zones ferment in 1990, prohibiting the possession of firearms in posted areas (School Law).Laws have never influenced criminal behavior because criminals, by their characters, do not respect laws. So a sticker on the campus doors stating No guns allowed is merely ironic in the face of tragedy. To the criminal, it means that this campus is a safe zone where victims are unable to protect themselves a paradise zone for a killer He is positive(predicate) to succeed in his mission to kill with little risk to himself The Gun-Free Zon e sticker screams Easy Targets Here. One basis of opposition to guns on campus focuses on the presumed risk of infection of young people, who are less mature, possessing guns. Some fear that during a party, a quarrel with friends could lead to use of a gun to resolve a disagreement. However, a student would be required to apply for a license in order to carry a gun, which requires a comprehensive FBI criminal background check, fingerprinting, schoolroom instruction and live-fire certification (eHow). The training is designed, in part, to cause the student with a concealed weapon to be careful. Licensing is available to applicants who are 21 years of age or older, thus more mature.Another argument of opposition emphasizes the possibility of violence increasing with concealed weapons on campus, as if the mere presence of a weapon will increase violence. However, the benefit of having concealed weapons allowed on campus is proven by the fact that 26 colleges and universities, in Utah and in Colorado, a total70 campuses, currently allowing concealed carry on campus have not been a single report of shootouts, accidents or heated conflicts. In fact, ratherthan causing crime as feared, Colorado State Universitys crime rate has declined steadily since allowing concealed carry weapons. Allowing concealed weapons does not increase risk. To the contrary, it presents an advantage it reduces crime and violence. Statistics and fact cede the fallacy that concealed weapons on campus will increase violence.In fact, guns should be permitted on campus due to the constitutional right to bear arms, growing violence on campus, the unmanageable job for the campus police to protect the students and staff, and the attractiveness of the Gun-free zone to malefactors. It should not stop there. High school teachers should be allowed to carry a weapon. As a future French teacher, I dont want to die as a victim, but as a brave little soldier who will fight for my life and those of my stu dents whom I would have in my charge.No one has the right to end a life of a living world for nothing. But many lives will be terminated before a policy is put in place to stop the rampage. The campus and other public places shouldnt allow us to revoke our right as citizens to protect ourselves. Reema Ramages parents would have loved to see her graduate from Virginia Tech, to be there for her wedding day, to view as her first child. But, a foolish man decided to kill these dreams. Sadly, no one was allowed to stop him. Reema has the right to live.Works Cited.MSNC, Worst U.S. shooting ever kills 33 on Va. campus. (2007) n. page. Print. ..Virginia Tech. We Remember biographies. N.p., 2007. Web. 3 Apr 2012. ..Head, Tom. The Second Amendment. About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2012. ..Time Line of Worldwide School Shootings. Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2012. ..Californias Gun-Free School Zone Act . School Law. N.p., 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2012. .. How to Get a Permit to Ca rry a Concealed Weapon in Texas. eHow. N.p., 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2012. .