SB 1214

In response to the article by Brett Livingood titled "Concealed Weapons Can't Hurt" published on March 17, in the Arizona State University paper, the State Press, I must state that I completely disagree. Carrying weapons onto a college campus or any school in general, is a dangerous and ridiculous idea. He said that the list of requirements to be able to carry a concealed gun onto our campus is long, is besides the point. First of all, in reality, it is only a few minor details that any idiot could accomplish. Second of all, just because someone isn't under indictment, is not a convicted felon, or has not been judged mentally incompetent by a doctor, does not mean they are still mentally able to bear the responsibility that comes with owning and legally carrying a gun. Many college students still have the mentality of a high school freshman, so his statement about "we mature college students" is not exactly true. And we all know that those are the students that will get the guns and bring them to campus, because they can, so why shouldn't they? They are the ones that will not safely keep them hidden, but will pull them out, wave them around and show them off to their friends and think, "how cool am I?" ... until it goes off because they did not think it was necessary to keep the safety on, or because they do not know how to handle it safely. Guns on our campus in the hands of anyone other than trained Police officers is insane, and if this law passes we will only be endangering the lives of everyone on campus. I for one am horrified that some people think this is a good idea.

In an email to Brett Livingood, he replied that " My reasons are that I trust the judgement of individuals for the most part, I assume that adults should be treated as such, and I believe guns are intended for self-defense." Trust them for the most part? If this is your reasoning as well, I must ask, why do you trust someone with your life and the lives of your friends and every other person on campus, when you do not know them? I don't know about you, but I am not willing to risk my friends lives over the possibility, that MAYBE these people have the responsibility and correct judgement to be able to carry a gun into a place of education. And why are you assuming? Do not assume a strangers intentions are good. That is the thinking that will get you killed. Be certain about someone's motives. And since you cannot be certain in this case, do not risk peoples lives with uncertainty. Mr. Livingood said that SB 1214 will "level the playing field". What playing field?? Arizona State University is not a war zone!! It is a school campus where students come to be educated, not to play war games. I am not alone in my feelings against this law being passed. The attacks against Columbine and Virginia Tech were horrific. True, somebody still could do that here, even if SB 1214 was not passed, but the less guns we have on campus the safer we all are. What happens if someone carries a gun onto campus to "level the playing field", thinks he sees something dangerous and whips out his gun and starts shooting and he turns out to be wrong? What then? It will be yet another unnecessary massacre spread across the front page and more lives damaged and lost forever. There will be less of a chance of an attack on us if there are no guns on campus. Guns in general area  bad idea, so why are we trying to allow them onto our campuses? We don't need an accident, a suicide attempt gone  awry, a bad day or a confused person who thought they were in danger to ruin the lives of every ASU student and every person remotely connected. Schools are for learning and getting an education, not for carrying guns and putting innocent peoples lives at risk. The people who will bring the guns onto our campuses are the ones that should not, and the ones that don't are the ones that are smart enough to realize that it is way too dangerous to put something as deadly as a gun into the hands of anyone who just wants to feel powerful. 

Stop playing with our lives and think. Weapons are dangerous and do not belong on school campuses. I do not want anyone to die just because of an asinine law that says any idiot can legally put me and my friend's lives at risk for the sake of "feeling safe". If this law passes, we will not be safe.