This afternoon, two representatives will introduce a resolution to the Student Assembly that calls on the Administration to advocate for the ability to carry concealed weapons on campus.
In the wake of the recent spate of shootings at Northern Illinois University and elsewhere, and at Virginia Tech last year, campus Republicans have suggested that “concealed carry” rights on campuses are the best way to deter such shootings and the best way to stop them once they begin. They argue that we are our own best protectors; that the right to bear arms is a fundamental right; that unarmed citizens leave themselves dangerously open to attack.
They’ve got it all wrong.
Well-meaning they may be, but the College Republicans and their supporters are — on this issue — way off target.
There are places in the United States where gun culture exists; where it is appropriate; where it is even necessary. Neither Cornell — nor any university — is one of those places.
Some may feel comforted by guns; for most, they are instruments of fear. More than anything, a university is an open society — it is a place that values free inquiry, unhindered debate and giving full credence to the kind of opinions that make people cringe.
In this spirit, weapons of intimidation have no place here. If, in the last analysis, we remain less safe, it is a risk well worth taking.
That said, school shootings are not to be trifled with. Murder is not to be trifled with. While an amount of risk is incumbent upon a free society, its members also share a responsibility to mitigate that risk.
The Republicans present a false choice between concealed carry and abject vulnerability. There are more moderate options that keep us safe even as they preserve another kind of security: the comfort that comes with the assumption that your lab partner isn’t packing heat.
There are certainly areas in which Cornell can do better. More CUPD officers walking beats would go a long way towards fostering a sense of safety on campus. And adding to Cornell’s impressive record on mental health services would do much towards preventing potential shooters from developing in the first place. Cornell ought to be a place where no community member ever feels so despondent, so forlorn, so unloved as to resort to violence.
Granting the likelihood of their good intentions, the Republicans and their allies have, over the past week, put forth a good faith proposal to make our campus more secure. But to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, those who would trade their liberty for security deserve neither. And an armed campus infringes on the liberty and comfort of many, far more than it increases the freedom and comfort of a small few. Concealed carry is a well-intentioned but misguided response to campus shootings. The S.A. should not pass a resolution in its support.