At the beginning of October, 10 people were shot and killed at Oregon's Umpqua Community College.
Public officials—and voters in general—almost immediately tried to determine what the problem was, and suggested solutions.
The Center for Peace and Conflict Studies is hosting a panel discussion on gun rights, ownership and reform to inform people about the different solutions and sides of the firearm debate. From 5 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 4 in room 175 of the Art and Journalism building, anyone can listen to the discussion and ask questions at the end.
“Every time something like this happens there is a huge public outcry that we need to change everything, and gun control and gun reform need to happen,” said Hunter Sully, a graduate assistant for the center. “There seems to be these words, like gun control and gun rights, that nobody has the meaning to, or everyone has different definitions for.”
After the Oregon shooting, United States senators announced their plans to introduce more gun control legislation to prevent mass shootings. Meanwhile, Indiana Rep. Jim Lucas (R) is planning to reintroduce legislation calling for more relaxed constitutional carry laws.
Last year, Lucas introduced House Bill 1143 and 1144, neither of which ever received a hearing in the Indiana General Assembly. HB 1143 called for an end to concealed carry restrictions on government property, and HB 1144 would enable people to carry handguns in Indiana without a license. He plans to push for both again in the 2016 session.
“Where a lot of these shootings are happening is gun-free zones,” Lucas said. “I've seen this back and forth in the media, and I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines.”
David Vest, the president of Students for Concealed Carry at Ball State, said his organization supports ideas similar to HB 1143. However, he considers the organization more middle-of-the-road, accepting people from a variety of beliefs on gun legislation.
Vest said there should be psychological and background checks for anyone buying a gun in Indiana. The group's main goal is teaching people to defend themselves and deal with firearms safely.
“Its not that we want to put more restrictions on it. We just want there to be more responsibility in the process,” Vest said.
Throughout the United States, average voters are split on the issue of gun legislation as well. According to a July 2015 Pew Research Report, 47 percent of Americans think supporting the right to own guns is more important than controlling gun ownership.
Because of this, Sully wanted to make sure multiple sides of the issue were represented in the panel.
Each of the panelists bring a different perspective to the discussion. University Police Department Chief James Duckham will provide a law enforcement perspective, and Jerry Griffis, a former Delaware County veterans officer, gives a pro-gun perspective, Sully said.
Two professors will also be on the panel. Theresa Kruczek, an associate professor of psychology, will provide a mental health perspective on gun violence, and Sally Jo Vasicko, a professor emeritus of political science, will speak about what the second amendment means.
“We're not necessarily trying to say that one perspective is better than the other, we just want to further that understanding of the campus community and the community of Muncie at large,” Sully said. “We can also start generating solutions on how we can sort of deal with this climate of violence that is so prevalent in our society today.“
Related:
One student's opinion on gun control laws.
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