Some advocate for firearms on campus after shooting
Brian Bernadel
Zachary Marco, an Arizona State University student, was shot and killed near the 1100 block of E. University Drive on Oct. 17. The incident has left some students wondering about the place of firearms on college campuses.
“I think that the law provides and tries the best it can to define when a shooting is justified and when a shooting is unjustified. But in my opinion, the only way a shooting is justified is when it is the only way to stop an innocent life from being taken,” said Jason Filer, an ASU student.
Filer carries a weapon to protect himself and the people he is with.
“I suppose the way I look at it is that it is responsible to protect yourself and to be ready to help protect others, if necessary. So, I carry a pistol personally out of just a desire, God forbid I ever need it,” Filer said.
He associated the recent campus shooting as an example of why guns should only be allowed to be held by only qualified students.
“If possible, I would have taken action. Now (being) he (was) on campus (and) it is not legal to have a firearm, I do not take a gun with me when I am on campus. I think maybe you should have to take a safety class beforehand because having inexperienced people with guns on campus could be dangerous. But I think there should be a way that people can carry weapons because…without that we run the risk of a Virginia Tech scenario where all the people are like fish in a barrel,” Filer said.
Natalie Nicosia, an MCC student, stated that a license should give its holder the ability to take a weapon anywhere.
“You should be able to have a license at least (to carry a gun) and if you have a license to carry them, you should be able to carry it wherever you want to,” Nicosia said.
Andy Raymond, an MCC student, echoed some of Filer’s viewpoints.
“You’d use a gun in public if someone pulled one on you,” Raymond said.
Andrew Beck stated he saw little need for students to carry firearms.
“I’d just walk away. I mean what is the guy going to do, shoot me in the middle of campus,” Beck said.
He also explained that students carrying guns on campus may lead to unnecessary violence.
“(If people carried guns) we’d have a bunch of armed vigilantes that have no discretion whatsoever. I think security should carry guns but not students because it would add to confusion if police ever did respond to an incident because they are looking for a person armed with a gun shooting people,” Beck said.
