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Darrell Warren
Professor Leah Huizar
UWRT-1102
8 November 2016
Modern Warfare
A major issue that constantly headlines the news and is constantly bashed is the topic
firearms. This topic has been an ongoing controversy for many decades now and will continue
for as long as they exist. Though guns have been around for hundreds of years, this also brings
up the topic of where they are allowed to be taken, and what restrictions should be put on them.
In just the past year there have been 372 mass shootings, wounding a total of 1,870 people total
(Hwang,GunWars). The numbers are expected to increase every year making this issue
something that has got to be resolved in the near future. The best way to decrease the amount of
mass shootings happening, and innocent people being shot daily is to allow more public places to
accept guns on the premises and enforce stricter laws to be able to purchase a firearm. Though
this seems like a simple solution many Americans may oppose this solution because they are
against gun owners and feel like they are more likely to harm than protect. This subject brings
up many questions to Americans. How will these laws be enforced to the public? What specific
laws should be passed to make it harder to buy a weapon? What long term goals should be
achieved by enforcing guns into a public environment? All of these are questions that citizens
would want answers to when allowing a teacher in a school to carry a firearm.

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North Carolina laws state that carrying a concealed firearm in any public or private
school building used or owned by an educational institution is off limits when carrying a gun,
any location prohibited by federal law, law enforcement of correctional facility, and any
financial institution are all places where a concealed weapon shouldnt be taken in North
Carolina (USA Carry). These are just a few of the laws in North Carolina that restricts a gun
owner. In North Carolina an American citizen should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon in
restaurants, schools, and even banks. If North Carolina passed a law that included making this
legal we would see a drastic decrease in crime rates as a whole. According to one news station,
55% of Americans that were interviewed say they would feel a lot safer in an public
environment where guns are allowed (USA Carry). This would also make others feel a lot safer
knowing that they have a way of protecting them self from a criminal. This would also decrease
the amount of mass shootings happening throughout not only North Carolina, but also America.
When criminals know others are armed many times they will second guess them self before
committing that crime. Many events such as the Orlando Nightclub mass shooting where 49
were shot by a criminal could have been prevented if security would have been armed with a
concealed weapon (Gal,Orlando Sentinel). Gun free zones are an easy target for killers and this
is a proven statement from the past mass shootings in schools and even churches in the past year
and will continue to happen if North Carolina gun laws do not look to make a change.
Though it is easy to say guns should be allowed to be carried in public places, such as
restaurants and clubs there has got to be certain restrictions on who exactly can get a concealed
carry permit. In North Carolina, before a citizen can receive a permit you have to pass a
background check, be a permanent resident in North Carolina, and pay an eighty-dollar fee to get
a permit (USA Carry). After receiving this permit a citizen still is restricted to carrying the

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weapon almost all public places. This defeats the purpose of getting a permit, laws should allow
North Carolina permanent residents who have a concealed carry license to carry a handgun on
their waist to wherever they want to protect them and others around them.
While I believe firearms in public places would make America great again, I also think
gun laws should become stricter in North Carolina. If North Carolina were to allow concealed
carry in public places they would also have to enforce more restrictions on citizens who wouldnt
be allowed to carry this permit. This would include anyone who wasnt a North Carolina
permanent resident, someone who has a misdemeanor or felony on their record, and it would be
beneficial to make the permit free rather than an eighty dollar fee. Residents shouldnt be
charged for a privilege that is given to a citizen. Before being able to purchase a weapon of
course you have to be background checked, and by allowing Americans in North Carolina the
right to carry a firearm in a public place, law enforcement would really have to enforce who can
and cannot be caught with possession of a firearm to keep others safe.
On December 14, 2012 one of the biggest school mass shootings happened at
Sandy Hook Elementary school where 20 students and 6 faculty members were shot and killed.
Today this could have been an event that could have been prevented if firearms were allowed in
public places, such as schools because the shooter would have been gunned down before he even
entered the school doors. One way to prevent this is for North Carolina to take a stand with
Missouri school districts as they start training teachers to carry concealed weapons in the
classroom (Harkins,CampusCarry). Teachers in the Missouri school are required to spend five
hours in a classroom and 35 hours on the range with the required firearm, a Glock 19 semiautomatic pistol. Ten districts have undergone the training and are pushing for teachers in
schools to make it more of a safe place to educate kids. North Carolina school systems should

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allow this to happen also and make it an option for teachers to be able to take the course if they
would like. I believe this would really slow down the mass school shootings that happen so
often. While many students are not even allowed to hug their teacher I believe schools would
really benefit from having concealed weapons carried by teachers and faculty members as an
option in school systems throughout North Carolina.
While I believe North Carolina should allow firearms in public places and stricter gun
laws, North Carolina will have to pass many laws and change certain rules and regulations in
those public places for this to happen and make a change. Though there are many people in
America that are against guns I think us as Americans should be open to change to make
students, customers, and all citizens safer from criminals to prevent the mass shootings and
robberies that happen on a daily basis. Now is the time to take a stand with change and eliminate
these catastrophic events from happening in North Carolina and throughout America.

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Works Cited
Ashtari, Shadee. Missouri School Districts Start Training Teachers to Carry Concealed Weapons
in Classroom. TheHuffingtonPost, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/23/missouriteachers-concealed-weapons_n_5522708.html. Accessed 4 October 2016
Gal, Tziperman Lotan. Orlando nightclub shooting timeline: Three hours of terror unfold.
Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pulse-orlando-nightclub-shooting/osorlando-pulse-nightclub-shooting-timeline-htmlstory.html. Accessed 4 October 2016.
Harkins, Bob. Campus Carry. Texas, https://campuscarry.utexas.edu/. Accessed 4 October
2016.
Hwang, Kristen. Across the nation, guns can be carried into more public places. GunWars,
http://gunwars.news21.com/2014/across-the-nation-guns-can-be-carried-into-more-publicplaces/. Accessed 4 October 2016.
North Carolina. Handgunlaw, http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/northcarolina.pdf. Accessed 4
October 2016.
North Carolina Gun Laws. NRA-ILA, https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/northcarolina/. Accessed 4 October 2016
North Carolina Concealed Carry Permit Information. USA Carry,
http://www.usacarry.com/north_carolina_concealed_carry_permit_information.html. Accessed 4
October 2016.
Steiner, Monica. Open and Concealed Gun Carry Laws in North Carolina.
CriminalDefenseLawyer, http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/open-and-concealedgun-carry-laws-north-carolina.htm#. Accessed 4 October 2016.

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