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Grand Rapids Community College student says guns should be allowed on campus by Nardy Baeza Bickel | The Grand Rapids Press Friday December 19, 2008, 11:00 AM
Press Photo/Hollyn JohnsonGrand Rapids Community College student Josh Eberly demonstrates how he would carry his concealed weapon on campus. GRAND RAPIDS -- An armed man walks around a college campus.
A college student -- legally carrying a concealed weapon -- confronts him, restraining the would-be shooter until police arrive.
That's the scenario Grand Rapids Community College student Josh Eberly, 25, imagines possible if licensed students were allowed to carry their concealed weapons on campus.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a nationwide group formed the day after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that left 33 people dead.
POLL Should carrying concealed weapons be legal on college campuses?
View Results
With 35,000 members throughout the country and representatives at 12 colleges and universities in Michigan, the group seeks to change legislation to get rid of gun-free zones in colleges.
Under the law, permit holders must be at least 21, undergo training and be without felonies or drunk-driving offenses. They can carry anywhere in the state except for gun-free zones such as schools, hospitals and bars.
GRCC's Student Handbook also bans weapons from all college property, including parking ramps.
College administrators said guns could end up in the wrong hands or interfere with police response in case of an emergency.
"I'm a firm believer in Second Amendment rights in the appropriate setting, and a college campus is not an appropriate setting," said GRCC Police Chief Cindy Kennel. "I don't think campus would be safer."
"I think it would add danger to a campus where you have a high density of people," added GRCC Vice President Patrick Cwayna. "We have a police force trained and prepared for situations like this. It would be counter-productive in every way to allow weapons on campus."
Administrators at other area campuses aren't to keen about the idea either.
"How do you identify who's a good guy and who's a bad guy? To add more firearms would make things more difficult," said Calvin College Safety Director Bill Corner.Agreeing was Grand Valley State University Dean of Students Bart Merkle, who said guns, high stress, alcohol consumption and students' high suicide rates are a dangerous mix.
"I'm vehemently opposed to that. Enabling people to carry guns on college campus makes no sense at all," he said.
GRCC criminal justice professor Gary Ebels, the adviser for Eberly's group, said he sees the group -- and the discussion it has raised on campus -- as a good teaching opportunity.
Press Photo/Rex LarsenGrand Rapids Community College criminal justice instructer Gary Ebels feels the debate about the right of students to carry concealed weapons provides a good learning opportunity for students. Supporters printed signs that have been posted in the college "When students have a cause and are learning by dealing with administrators and politicians and defining what they're (fighting) for... I like the discussion," Ebels said.
"(They say) we have this policy on one hand and this other one on the other hand ... which one should take precedent? ... I support them in asking the question: Let's sit down and decide what's this all about."
Since the shooting in February at Northern Illinois University left six dead, the discussion has intensified across the country.
Students are allowed to carry concealed weapons in Utah and Colorado, and the issue has been considered in Alabama, Louisiana, Idaho and Ohio.
Eberly, who won't say whether he has a permit to carry, said he was initially against the idea of allowing guns on campuses. But now he thinks students with gun permits would add immediate security.
"Why wait for the police to show up when your life is in danger?" he said.
Grand Rapids Community College student says guns should be allowed on campus by Nardy Baeza Bickel | The Grand Rapids Press Friday December 19, 2008, 11:00 AM
A college student -- legally carrying a concealed weapon -- confronts him, restraining the would-be shooter until police arrive.
That's the scenario Grand Rapids Community College student Josh Eberly, 25, imagines possible if licensed students were allowed to carry their concealed weapons on campus.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a nationwide group formed the day after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that left 33 people dead.
POLL Should carrying concealed weapons be legal on college campuses?
- Yes, it would makes campuses safer. No, it would endanger the community.
View Results
With 35,000 members throughout the country and representatives at 12 colleges and universities in Michigan, the group seeks to change legislation to get rid of gun-free zones in colleges.
Under the law, permit holders must be at least 21, undergo training and be without felonies or drunk-driving offenses. They can carry anywhere in the state except for gun-free zones such as schools, hospitals and bars.
GRCC's Student Handbook also bans weapons from all college property, including parking ramps.
College administrators said guns could end up in the wrong hands or interfere with police response in case of an emergency.
"I'm a firm believer in Second Amendment rights in the appropriate setting, and a college campus is not an appropriate setting," said GRCC Police Chief Cindy Kennel. "I don't think campus would be safer."
"I think it would add danger to a campus where you have a high density of people," added GRCC Vice President Patrick Cwayna. "We have a police force trained and prepared for situations like this. It would be counter-productive in every way to allow weapons on campus."
Administrators at other area campuses aren't to keen about the idea either.
"How do you identify who's a good guy and who's a bad guy? To add more firearms would make things more difficult," said Calvin College Safety Director Bill Corner.Agreeing was Grand Valley State University Dean of Students Bart Merkle, who said guns, high stress, alcohol consumption and students' high suicide rates are a dangerous mix.
"I'm vehemently opposed to that. Enabling people to carry guns on college campus makes no sense at all," he said.
GRCC criminal justice professor Gary Ebels, the adviser for Eberly's group, said he sees the group -- and the discussion it has raised on campus -- as a good teaching opportunity.
"(They say) we have this policy on one hand and this other one on the other hand ... which one should take precedent? ... I support them in asking the question: Let's sit down and decide what's this all about."
Since the shooting in February at Northern Illinois University left six dead, the discussion has intensified across the country.
Students are allowed to carry concealed weapons in Utah and Colorado, and the issue has been considered in Alabama, Louisiana, Idaho and Ohio.
Eberly, who won't say whether he has a permit to carry, said he was initially against the idea of allowing guns on campuses. But now he thinks students with gun permits would add immediate security.
"Why wait for the police to show up when your life is in danger?" he said.
