No Gun Left Behind - The Gun Lobby's Campaign to Push Guns into Colleges and Schools

Abstract:     
On April 16, 2007, the day of the "Massacre at Virginia Tech", in which 32 innocent college students and faculty lost their lives to a crazed gunman armed with two semi-automatic pistols and a couple hundred rounds of ammunition, the first reaction of the gun lobby was that we need more guns on the college campuses of our Nation. The gun lobby also wants to repeal the Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act and arm public school teachers. This report exposes the gun lobby's step-by-step strategy to force guns into every aspect of daily life. Introducing guns into schools and universities is only the latest attempt to knock down barriers to firearms possession in places that previously were gun-free. Section One discusses the severe risks that would be created if gun possession and carrying became widespread on college campuses and gun-free school zones were undermined. Section Two explains how that campaign would destroy fundamental rights of academic freedom and wrest control of college campuses and schools from persons entrusted to secure those institutions. Section Three explains that these risks can best be managed by continuing gunfree policies. The Conclusion stresses that because of the gun lobby's campaign, it is no longer enough for academic institutions to adopt gun-free policies. Academic communities must also become active in potentially every state legislature if they want to keep the right to maintain a gun-free environment.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 53

Keywords: Virginia Tech, gunman, pistols, gun lobby, guns, college, campuses, handguns, universities, Brady Center, gun violence, gun control, National Rifle Association, NRA, firearms, right to bear arms, Second Amendment, schools

JEL Classification: H1, I28, L31, L32, K10, K14

Accepted Paper Series