The recent violent on-campus sword attack underscores the fact that the legislation currently going through the Georgia General Assembly to repeal the ban of firearms on campus endangers the Tech community. Allowing guns on campus will not fix the crime problems that plague the surrounding areas of Tech, rather it will only exacerbate the current problems, and potentially create new dangerous situations on campus.
This recipe for disaster could lead to a heightened level of severity in the crimes occurring. While the muggings are deplorable, they would seem trivial in comparison of a student being killed as result of the people of ill-intentions escalating their actions. Also, even if criminals “learned” that Tech students were armed, the lessons would be violent, and crime would likely get worse before it got better. An arms race between students and criminals will solve nothing.
Any arguments that guns might lower the crime around campus are limited since a large percentage of the Tech community is under the legal age to carry a concealed firearm. Also, there could be the serious risk of students who live on campus being unable to properly secure their firearms in their rooms or dorms.
Speculation that students or faculty being able to carry firearms would deter or prevent an on-campus tragedy is ridiculous. Such acts are spontaneous and irrational, and suggesting that the average carrier without law enforcement training would somehow be ready to respond to such a traumatic and overwhelming incident is very shortsighted.
The college environment is already tense enough without literally throwing gun powder into the equation. Legality not withstanding, recent events have demonstrated that mixing weapons with academic environments is too risky. Tech’s campus has a volatile mix of alcohol and stress, without the presence of firearms.