Column for the Boston Globe

[LkWinnipesaukee]

Hey guys,

In case you guys don't know (or forgot ), I'm on my high school newspaper and have done some pro-gun columns before. I just finished whipping up this column that I sent to the Boston Globe. I doubt it will get published, but whatever. Tell me what you think. Go easy, I'm just a soph.

The solution to school shootings is more guns
......
Let me elaborate.

The result of the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus were so catastrophic because none of the victims were able to defend themselves against the only armed person on campus: a madman. This was because the campus, like most around the country, is an unarmed, advertised victimization zone, due to the fact that no person may carry a firearm on campus—a rule with good intentions.

This means that anyone who chooses to abide by the law will disarm themselves before coming on campus, even if they are allowed to carry a firearm otherwise. The fatal flaw to this “gun-free zone” philosophy is that anyone who wishes to terrorize a building full of unarmed victims would disregard this rule.

Since none of the victims in the VT shooting were armed, the shooter was able to kill far more people because his prey were unable to properly defend themselves. This, of course, is ridiculous.

There is absolutely no reason why those properly trained and licensed, be it college students, teachers, or professors, should not be able to exercise their right to carry their firearms just because they are on a school campus.

If I may be curt, parents, your children are not terribly safe in their classrooms. Before you slam this column down in disgust, think about what would happen if somebody walked into a completely unarmed school and began shooting people? The answer: Columbine.

I don't feel safe in my school; I'd feel safer if my teachers could carry firearms. That way, at least somebody would be able to help mitigate a bad situation. Innocent lives are worth protecting, right?

Ask yourself this: what if even a fraction of the students at VT were armed? What if one of the teachers at Columbine was armed? The end results would have been far less tragic.

A man who wants to kill people should not be the only one with a gun.


....

 

[bogie]

The solution to school shootings is more guns
......
Let me elaborate.

The shootings on Virginia Tech's campus were so catastrophic because none of the victims were able to defend themselves against the only armed person on campus: a madman. The campus, like most around the country, is actually advertised as an unarmed victimization zone, with signs stating that no person may legally carry a firearm on campus—a rule with good intentions but unintended consequences.

Anyone who chooses to abide by the law will disarm before coming on campus, even if allowed to carry a firearm elsewhere. The fatal flaw to this “gun-free zone” philosophy is that anyone who wishes to terrorize a building full of unarmed victims will disregard, if not take advantage of, this rule.

Since the victims were unable to resist, the shooter killed far more people.

There is no reason why those trained and licensed, whether they are college students, teachers, or professors, should not be able to carry a legal gun just because they are on a school campus.

This may be hard to take, but parents, your children are not safe in their classrooms. Before you slam this column down in disgust, think about what would happen if somebody walked into a completely unarmed school and began shooting people? The answer: Columbine. And nothing has changed, except to advertise the vulnerability of innocents.

I don't feel safe in my school. But I'd feel safer if my teachers could carry firearms. That way, at least somebody would be able to help. Innocent lives are worth protecting, right? /italic/My/italic life is worth protecting, right? Right?

It's time to ask ourselves - what if even a fraction of the students at VT were armed? What if one of the teachers at Columbine was armed? The end results would have been far less tragic.

A man who wants to kill people should not be the only one with a gun.