Last December, a portion of the University of North Florida’s weapon policy was struck down as a violation of Florida state law in the 1st District Court of Appeals.
The university, along with a handful of other colleges throughout Florida, has had a long-standing ban on keeping weapons securely encased in a vehicle, but UNF is being pressured to change its policy in light of the ruling.
A case was brought against the school by a supposed “gun-rights” organization called Florida Carry. The group recently filed another lawsuit against the University of Florida in Gainesville because of their ban on weapons in residence halls, for example UF-owned dorms and apartments. Florida Carry’s complaint was that UNF’s ban is invalid and does not comply with state regulatory legislation on weapons in section 790.33(1), Florida Statutes (2011).
Chapter 790 is the portion of Florida statutes that lists the regulations of firearms and other weapons.
UNF’s defense was that their policy was valid because section 790.115(2)(a)3 allows an exception for school districts to write their own policy whenever it comes to the secure encasement of weapons in vehicles. The court disagreed with them by pointing out that UNF does not operate within a district system, neither does any other college or university and ruled in Florida Carry’s favor.
A number of Florida colleges have since changed their policies pertaining to keeping weapons in vehicles.
Daytona State College is also slated to approve such policy changes. Brian Babb, Executive Vice President of DSC said in an article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal that the College follows the law but doesn’t interpret it. Although DSC hasn’t taken a position on the court ruling, it is examining closely at its policies.
“We as an organization are not going to sit idly by while we have state agencies and colleges violating peoples’ right to bear arms and your right to self-defense,” said Sean Caranna, Port Orange resident and executive director of Florida Carry reflecting on the case.
Caranna’s right-Libertarian rhetoric may be aesthetically pleasing to some but public safety doesn’t seem to be a primary concern of Caranna or Florida Carry. Consider the issue of mental illness. It is highly correlated with gun-related suicides and mass shootings.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services conducted a national survey in 2002 to calculate the rates of mental illness based on demographics of age and gender. College-aged individuals from 18 to 25 years old were found to have the highest rates. The American Psychiatric Association also found that about 1,100 college students commit suicide each year.
In the year of 2013, there were at least 30 reports of school shootings and much of them have been tied to mental illness, much like the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and the Northern Illinois State University shooting in 2008.
But instead of having mental illness as a focus to divert such tragedies from occurring, gun laws on campus in various states appear to be getting more relaxed and Florida Carry seems to follow the line of easier access to guns somehow means people will be safer. There is no significant statistical evidence that determines more guns on campus deter gun violence. Yet in recent years, five states have passed legislation to allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus: Colorado, Oregon, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Utah.
Another important dimension of the issue is the illogical underpinning of Florida law that allows schools within the district system to be able to be exempt from allowing weapons in cars, but not colleges or universities.
If colleges and universities are silent on this issue, it may lead to even looser legislation that schools will be enforced to comply which as has happened in other states. The results may be deadlier than what the nation is already dealing with.
Gun and violent deaths in the United States is a confusing and controversial topic, to be sure. Two years ago, FactCheck.org, a service of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, conducted a survey that indicated although gun ownership was up, for the previous three years, the homicide rate had dropped.
Even so, the study concluded that among advanced countries, the U.S. homicide rate stands out. “We seem to be an average country in terms of violence and aggression,” says David Hemenway, a professor of Health Policy at Harvard University. “What we have is huge homicide rates compared to anybody else.”
The Washington Post reported around the same time, shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, that Americans are 20 more times likely to be killed by a gun than in any other developed country.
It seems logical to us that more guns, especially on campus, will only increase those odds.