Steven Kazmierczak, Robert Hawkins, Seung-Hui Cho, these are three perpetrators of murder-suicides that have happened in the past year. All of the men were under 28 years of age with the youngest being only 19, and yet all were troubled enough to bring a gun and kill innocent people. These incidents have left students around the nation scared. The fear and outrage of the Columbine massacre has been brought to the head again and again through these more recent shootings. The question then becomes, what do we do to prevent this from happening?

One state has changed its laws in response to the shootings, Utah. Utah has allowed students to carry weapons on campus as long as they possess a concealed weapons permit. This means that students are walking around to classes and within dorms with weapons hidden in belts and bags. This has raised mixed reactions among students and teachers. The students who carry these concealed weapons believe that this will provide them with an added means of protection; others believe that carrying guns is just going to escalate violence.

My opinion? The more guns there are on campus, the more chances there are for gun related incidents. A student myself, I believe campuses should strengthen restrictions on handguns and other weapons brought on campus, as well as, improve their reaction plans already in place. None of us want a repeat of what happened at Virginia Tech or North Illinois University, and I believe handguns on campus will just intensify the problem.

What do you think? Post your comments or contact us to let your voice be heard.