The Young Democrats of KSU hosted a panel discussion Tuesday evening to debate proposed state legislation that would allow guns on college campuses, churches, bars and public schools.
Those in attendance included Kimberly Minor, a representative for the Active Minds organization; Branko Radulovacki, a psychiatrist and candidate for the 2014 Senate race; Kathryn Grant, a representative for the Keep Guns Off Campus organization; and Ronnie Mosley, a Morehouse College student advocating to put an end to gun violence.
KSU’s Students for Concealed Carry, many were wearing buttons that said “Guns Save Lives” to voice their support for a policy change that would allow students to carry firearms on campus, also attended the event.
Jordan Sartin, president of the Young Democrats of KSU, began the discussion by giving a general overview of the proposed legislation. He said the purpose of the discussion was to educate, not make any assumptions.
“We are not here to talk about disarming anyone,” said Sartin. “We are certainly not in any way here to challenge the Second Amendment to the Constitution.”
Senate Bill 101 failed to pass in the General Assembly earlier this year. The legislation would have loosened restrictions on Georgia’s existing gun laws by allowing licensed individuals to carry concealed firearms on college campuses and in churches. The bill also would have allowed public schools to arm its administrators. The bill, set to be reintroduced in 2014, is being considered by the House’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.
Radulovacki discussed mental health issues concerning gun violence and laws applicable to the bill. He said a high incidence of gun crimes are committed by individuals with mental illnesses.
Mosley spoke of his experiences with gun crimes in Chicago, including an incident involving the murder of a 16-year-old boy he knew on a bus in 2007. Mosley travels around speaking and advocating for an end to gun violence.
The speakers at the debate did not advocate banning guns entirely or increasing gun law restrictions. They said the discussion was only aimed to educate.
Two students in attendance, Sam Miller and Michael Rice, approached the issue with a neutral perspective, but both said that seeing a classmate with a gun would make them feel uncomfortable.
“That’s a difficult question to answer because it’s situational,” said Miller. “I would be uncomfortable.”
Rice agreed. “If something happened, they would have to know how to defend themselves or someone else,” he said. “You don’t know what kind of training they have.”
The students said they were there to hear both sides of the argument.
Luke Crawford, president of Students for Concealed Carry, discussed major gun violence incidents, including the shootings in Newtown, Conn. and Columbine. He argued that most mass shootings take place in gun-free zones where victims are unable to defend themselves.
“If you’re a criminal and you look at a college campus as a gun-free zone, then you know that you can go in there, and you can hurt people and rob people and rape people and shoot people, and chances are you’re not going to have much opposition,” Crawford said Sunday. “Criminals love those kinds of areas.”
He said while KSU has a “great police department,” they can’t be everywhere at once.
“When seconds count the police are minutes away,” Crawford said.
He said he was disappointed to see the bill fail in the General Assembly back in March but remains hopeful that SB 101 will have more success next year.
Crawford said he would not be surprised to see an increase in crime rates around KSU as the university continues to expand, adding that stricter gun laws do not deter criminals from acquiring weapons.
Although the occurrence of violent crime on and around KSU’s campus is low, the recent death of student Kim Kilgore resides in the minds of many students when discussing gun violence.
While Senate Bill 101 will not become active again until 2014, it remains a controversial issue in Georgia.