GUNS - PowerPoint Presentation

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GUNS

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Faculty/Research Advisors: Patsy Self, PhDPrincipal Investigators: Alvaro Calle

Co-Principal Investigators: Cinthya Revost, Diana Garcia, Anna Seerey, Anabelle Petisco, Melissa Garcia, Giancarlo Africano, Alexandra Gutierrez, Elier Amador, Anthony Rusch

Researchers

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Your heart is racing one-hundred beats per minute, as if you were running a marathon, while you stare at the shooter between the dusty bookshelf. Three shots, as loud an explosion, have been fired and all you can do is hide. You are as quiet as a mouse, with tears running down your cheek for what seems like hours, until you finally hear the police sirens approaching. A life threatening shooting, like the one at Florida State University, is the reason guns do not have a place on campus grounds. A college campus is a place to acquire an education, in order to better our future, not a place to carry weapons. Thus, licensed individuals should not be allowed to carry guns at FIU.

Introduction

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The Second Amendment defends citizens' rights to privately own and possess firearms.

But Americans throughout history have long debated this issue of gun control. With the exception of a law enforcement officer, no one is allowed to carry a gun without a license.

In the state of Florida, it is a third degree felony to posses a firearm in school grounds.However, Senator Greg Evers is trying to get “The Senate companion bill (SB 68)” made into a law. This bill proposes that a licensed individual is authorized to carry a gun on a public campus, in Florida.

Also, there is another bill being proposed known as the “Open carry”. This bill will allow people with a permit “to openly display their firearms in most public places”.

BACKGROUND

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Obtaining a gun license:

You must be at least 21 years of age unless you are a service member, or you are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces who was discharged under honorable conditions.

You must be a US Citizen or legal Resident. . You must be able to provide a CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION from a firearms training class or other acceptable training document that evidences your competency with a firearm.

You must not have a DISQUALIFYING CRIMINAL RECORD or other condition that would make you ineligible for licensure.

Who may not own guns:

1. Minors (under 21);

2. Convicted felon (or 3 yrs. after sentence or probation fulfilled);

3. Has been convicted or committed for abuse of a controlled substance within last 3 yrs.;

4. Anyone who chronically or habitually abuses alcohol or other substances;

5. Has been adjudicated incapacitated (or 5 yrs. after restoration of capacity);

6. Been committed to mental institution (unless free from disability for 5 yrs.);

7. Person subject to injunction against committing acts of domestic violence.

FLORIDA CONTROL/LAWS

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ConstitutionalityClayton Cramer: Any form of gun control violates the right to bear arms granted by the 2nd Amendment.

Lewis Wasserman: Only certain forms of gun control are constitutional based on due process provisions included in the 14th Amendment allowing rights to property.Public SafetyLindsay Schneider: Guns in the hands of licensed individuals on college campuses pose no danger to the public, and guns can perhaps even provide a level of protection from rogue shooters who do not bother to get licensed.

Peter Wood: Any and all guns allowed on college campuses increase the danger posed to the individuals present.Public Opinion

Rachel Wiseman: The majority of U.S. citizens believe that the government should step down from regulating guns on college campuses, leaving the matter to be handled at the local level.

Robert Birnbaum: The public opinion of U.S. citizens actually reflect the opposite, that the government should in fact be the ones responsible for imposing gun regulations on college campuses.

Different Perspectives of Other States

Noah Rayman: Pro-gun states such as Texas are becoming lenient towards regulations regarding gun control on college campuses and that these same states are experiencing greater success by several measures.

Katherine Mangan: States that are tightening regulations concerning gun control on college campuses are the ones experiencing greater success.

After reviewing the literature compiled in each of these four categories, our research team decided that most well-supported scholarly opinions back our thesis that licensed individuals should not be allowed to carry guns on the FIU campus.

Literature Search

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Examined literature on guns and gun control at F.I.U Constructed a questionnaire concerning the opinions of students and faculty regarding guns on campus Surveys were distributed via surveymonkey.com and in person

Data was collected and results were analyzedMethodology

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Guns at FIU SurveyResearch project composed by the honors students of IDH1931-U10 under Prof. Patsy Self.

 The students of IDH1931-U10 are conducting research on how students and faculty members at Florida International University feel about issues pertaining to guns on campus and gun rights. The purpose of this survey is to allow for us to understand and digest the opinions of individuals to form a broader consensus identifying how the university as a whole feels about these topics. All information gathered from this survey will only be used for this sole purpose. Thank you for helping us out!

METHODOLOGY: INSTRUMENT

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Please look at the questions below and choose whether or not you agree or disagree with them. (Please only answer either question 2a or question 2b).

Check below

Yes

No

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Would you prefer if students/faculty were allowed to possess guns on campus?

2

Are you currently licensed to carry a gun?

2a

If

yes

to question two, do you currently own a gun?

2b

If

no

to question two, do you plan on becoming licensed?

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Have you or someone you know ever experienced gun violence?

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Do you currently know how to properly use a firearm?

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Do you support the second amendment (right to bear arms)?

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Do you think that gun regulation (e.g. banning students and faculty from bringing guns onto campus grounds) violates the second amendment?

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Please circle whether you are male or female.

Male

FemaleSlide9

FINDINGS

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FINDINGS

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Our survey

FIU

68% Hispanic

61% Hispanic

18% White Non-Hispanic

15% White Non-Hispanic

7% Black Non-Hispanic

13% Black Non-Hispanic

6% Asian Pacific Islander

4% Asian Pacific Islander

1% other minority groups

7% other minority groups

ANALYSIS: DEMOGRAPHICS

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The same amount of participants answered yes to being licensed to carry a gun, and to allowing students/faculty to carry guns on campus (18%).33% of people who answered no to having a gun license ended up answering yes to whether or not they would want to become licensed.

Almost half of the participants answered yes to experiencing or knowing someone who has experienced gun violence. (42%)Only 19% of participants indicated that they are licensed to carry a gun, yet 31% claim they know how to properly use a firearm.

Our largest demographic surveyed was Hispanic, female, undergraduate students.An overwhelming majority of participants support the 2nd amendment (78%).

ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION

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In contrast, only 25% of participants believe that gun regulation violates their 2

nd

amendment rights.

25% of participants believe that banning students and faculty from bringing guns onto campus grounds infringes on their 2

nd

amendment rights, yet only 18% of participants would want students/faculty to be able to carry guns on campus.

68% of our participants are Hispanic.

Only 10% of our participants are faculty members.

Based on individual surveys, men were more likely to select yes to allowing for the possession of guns on campus, being licensed to carry a gun, supporting the 2nd amendment, and believing that gun regulation infringes on their 2nd amendment rights.Slide13

Overall, there was an overwhelming support for the policy prohibiting individuals from carrying guns on campus. In contrast, only 18% of the sample supported carrying guns on campus. Now that the general opinion of the student body has been found, the next step in the guns on campus debate is to take action. Attempts to legalize guns on campus must be met with resistance directly from the student body in the form of lobbying and petitioning. Organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) must be reprimanded for their excessive efforts to ensure that guns are readily available to almost any American

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