What Law Enforcement Leaders Say About Conceal And Carry On College Campuses
SOURCE:
Chief Jim Johnson, joined by members of the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, at a conference to call on Congress to take action to prevent gun violence on February 27, 2013 in Washington, DC.
Representatives from the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence gathered this week to urge Congress to pass gun violence legislation that would mandate background checks, ban new semi-automatic weapons, and keep guns off college campuses.
“There is no credible evidence that students or teachers carrying concealed weapons will decrease violence on campuses” said President of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Anne Glavin.
Concealed weapons would “dramatically increase violence on college campuses," Glavin said.
Glavin referred to a recent shooting in which at Coastal Carolina University student Andrew Liddell was killed by an unidentified gunman outside of an on-campus residence hall, which was the sixth school shooting since Sandy Hook.
Other speakers called for common-sense legislation that banned firepower designed for combat situations, decrying the spread of weapons that they characterized as "war machines," and for a federal gun registry.
“Gun violence directly impacts our children, our schools, and our communities," said Terry Cunningham, a police chief from Wellesley, MA. "The time to act is now."
Young people overwhelmingly support stricter gun prevention laws, including banning military-style assault rifles. Among 18-29-year-olds, 44 percent would support a ban on military-style semiautomatics, and 46 percent would ban assault weapons. A majority of young people also support instituting a federal gun database and enforcing background checks at gun shows.
Speaker James Johnson, a police chief from Baltimore, MD, previously called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to impose stricter gun restrictions to curb violence.
“On behalf of my colleagues across the nation, I’m here today to tell you that we are long overdue in strengthening the nation’s gun laws,” Johnson said last month.
The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence is an organization of law enforcement professionals that supports policies designed to combat violence in the United States.
Amber Pace is a Policy and Research Intern with Campus Progress.
Biden Says There Is “Political Price” For Inaction On Gun Violence
#1in3: Breaking the Silence on Abortion
Border Security Debate Could Pull Trigger on Immigration Reform