Students discuss gun control policy at BISF

By Natalie Koonce     4/10/13 7:00pm

 

Wednesday, Rice students gathered in the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy to hear representatives from the Rice Conservative Forum and the Rice Young Democrats debate gun control policy. 

Each side had three representatives: Wiess College sophomore James Dargan, McMurtry College sophomore Spencer Kent and Baker College freshman Kaylen Strench represented the conservatives and Will Rice College sophomore Nathan Joo and Martel College freshmen Sanjana Puri and Tanya Rajan represented the Democrats. 

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Joo said his group supports an assault weapons ban as the appropriate response to recent tragedies involving assault weapons such as the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shooting and the movie theater shooting in Aurora Colo. 

"We believe that inaction is unacceptable," Joo said. "The evidence that links lack of gun control and homicide cannot be ignored. A recent study published by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center shows that across states, more guns equal more homicides." 

Dargan said the type of weapon did not have a proven correlation with number of deaths and discussed what he called myths about assault weapons. 

"I'd like to start by dispelling two myths about assault weapons that have been brought up today," Dargan said. "First, an assault weapon is not defined by any one feature that has anything to do with the actual function of the weapon - not the caliber, not the firepower, not the range - it's defined by the pistol grip, something for comfort. The second myth is that the assault weapon is the root of our gun violence problem. There is no correlation between the number of victims in an individual incident and the type of weapon used." 

Kent said added safety by having armed responsible citizens in dangerous situations cannot be ignored when discussing concealed carry laws. 

"People carry concealed because they worry about being in a situation that poses a direct threat to themselves or those that they love and being effectively helpless," Kent said. "It's well-documented that criminals are less likely to attack if they believe someone nearby is carrying a concealed handgun." 

Rajan countered by saying a majority of states employ shall-issue permits, the most easily obtained permit to carry a concealed handgun. 

"We, the Rice Democrats, understand the importance of concealed carry laws adding to citizens' safety," Rajan said. "However, the issue is that there are two types of permits, a shall-issue permit, which means you only have to meet minimal standards, and a may-issue permit, which is much harsher. The problem is that most states opt for the easier to obtain shall-issue permits." 

Opponents Puri and Strench, who is a Thresher Arts and Entertainment editor, said they agreed with each other that there should be policies requiring more stringent background checks on citizens wishing to purchase assault weapons, although Puri said more extensive background checks should also apply to other types of guns. 

Joo said Democrats advocated stricter gun control in every respect. 

"We believe that the data points to an undeniable conclusion: There is a connection between guns and homicides," Joo said. "And we don't think anyone would dispute that the lives of children are more important than the right of any individual to carry a semiautomatic weapon." 

Kent said Republicans argued that gun restrictions will not solve America's gun violence problem and stated that some freedoms come with a cost. 

"No amount of gun regulation will put an end to mass shootings," Kent said. "The freedom to own a gun absolutely comes with a cost. We have and always will sacrifice a measure of safety for freedom."

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