In the state of Florida gun violence in the state of Florida, according to reports, the crime total for 2016 was 641,014 and out of these crimes, there were a total 88,501 that were gun related.
While Leon County ranks the highest for crime per 100,000 people in the state of Florida. The latest numbers account for January through December 2016. Leon County sits at 5,655 crimes per 100,000. That number is 6.8 percent higher than 2015. The stats are part of FDLE’s annual Uniform Crime Report.
This year states across the country have found a way to get rid of restrictions on 2nd Amendment rights, allowing everything from holster-free gun-carrying. For example, campus carries at Georgia state universities.
However, in the state of Florida, the bill to repeal gun-free zones and open carry on campus is at a standstill with legislation. Furthermore, there were five separate bills that could allow guns in courthouses, airports and in government meetings in the state.
Should open carry be allowed on the college campus here in Tallahassee which as stated above does lead the state in counties with the highest crime rate?
When asking students about firearms on their campus, they each stood strongly in their stance on the issue.
Eugene Moore Jr., a Tallahassee Community College student shared his thoughts on the issue:
“I’m not in favor of open carry because many students have problems that they are dealing with,” Moore said, “Instead of us allowing people to have easy access to guns, we as people should try to do our best to reach them before things get to that level.”
While Denzel Bonner, a Health Leisure and Coaching major at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University shares the same perspective:
“Open carry should not be allowed on campus because that would cause more problems than allowing firearm on campus,” Bonner said, “I don’t think students would respect the law of having a conceal weapon but they would abuse the law than abide by it.”
Keke Poole, a student at Florida State University offers her take on this matter:
“Florida State students should not be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus because most colleges are young adults between the ages of 18 and 24,” Poole said. “They do not have a fully developed Pre-frontal cortex which is where managing complex processes like reason, logic, problem-solving, planning, memory and decision making happen.”
On February 14th in a matter of minutes, thousands of students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School went from thinking they were part of a fire drill to hiding inside closets and bathrooms to escape the deadly gunfire.
According to sources Nikolas Cruz opened up fire inside the Florida school on Valentine’s Day, killing 14 students and three teachers. The tragic shooting is one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history, according to law enforcement authorities, school officials and witnesses.
As a result of the shooting thousands of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and serval other schools from across the state rallied at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee on February 26, 2018, to pressure lawmakers to approve tougher gun control laws one week after one of the most deadly U.S. school shootings.
A gunman killed 17 people at the Parkland school, triggering a wave of protests by students in Tallahassee and elsewhere in the U.S. Teachers and Florida state representative Sean Shaw joined the students on the grounds of the capitol.
Not only is this issue a domestic problem but it also is also affecting students aboard on military bases. Overseas military bases joined a national gun violence protest, walking out of class on March 14th in memory of peers and teachers killed by a former classmate in a Florida school shooting last month.
Although some schools accommodated the demonstrators, one threatened students with potential punishment and referral to military police.
Those who organized the peaceful protest who promoted the walkout on social media with the hashtag #EnoughisEnough encouraged students to leave class at schools all over America for 17 minutes from 10 a.m. on March 14.
With the time difference, of students on U.S. installations in the Pacific, they were among the first participant to do so. In addition, more than 2,500 walkouts were planned, according to organizers who spread their plans on Twitter.
Walkout participants want Congress to ban assault weapons, require universal background checks for gun purchases and allow courts to disarm gun owners who display warning signs of violent behavior.
Benjamin Todman a freshmen student at Ramstein High School, shares his thoughts on the protest:
“My thoughts on this case is that it would be a little bit of a push to jump to teachers having guns,” Todman said. “I prefer that schools increase there security instead of bringing more weapons on to school grounds because any kid could get a hold of the gun it would only get worse from there.”
Well, the students have spoken and now it’s up to the 2018 legislative session to decide about this issues that keeps on happening with schools across the nation.
Joshua Lowder 