As of right now it’s illegal to have a gun on college campuses in Florida, but a new bill that is expected to pass this week would allow people with concealed weapons permits to openly carry handguns, tear gas guns, knives and billy clubs on campuses around the state. Finally, every child’s dream of going to school surrounded by people with tear gas guns could become reality!
Not only would letting people have guns on campus increase the risk of death by like, a lot, passing this bill could cost 74 million dollars in increased security and insurance costs. These added costs weren’t calculated into the bill so we would end up paying for it with even higher tuition fees and taxes.
Picture the douchiest fraternity guy you know, Costas swinging smugly behind his neck as he tips back his head to chug his beer before slamming the can on his forehead in an attempt to crush it between his head and his fist. “Fuck yeah!” he yells afterward, thrilled to have found a way to increase the number of brain cells he can kill during one activity. Now picture that same impressive display of hypermasculinity, but imagine that guy having a gun strapped to his waist. Scary right?
According to Harvard, students with guns were more likely to be male and white, live in a fraternity, binge drink, drive after drinking, and to injure themselves and others after drinking. So basically exactly the type of person you want to have a weapon in case of an emergency. Not to mention that college students are more likely to suffer from stress, drug/alcohol abuse, undiagnosed mental illness, and suicide rates that are way higher than the rest of the population, so adding guns to the mix is a recipe for disaster.
Supporters of the bill say that it would help protect students and faculty from active shooters or sexual assault, but pretty much everyone who spends any time on college campuses is not a fan: all of the colleges in Florida unanimously said “fuck no” to this bill.
Police chiefs, college faculty and students have responded with a hard no as well. Even the Florida Sheriffs Association opposes it, and those guys fucking love guns. They said that they think that this law would make it harder to tell between the good guys with guns and the bad guys with guns, and they worry this would put police officers and the public in danger. Does anyone want to make it harder for law enforcement to protect us? ‘Cause I sure don’t.
If you feel strongly about this bill, you can call the office of the Speaker of the House and let him know which way you’d like him to vote. And he’ll actually listen to you because if he doesn’t, then then he doesn’t get re-elected and he loses his job. So call him! His number is 850-717-5051.
