More than 160 college presidents who are calling themselves the “College Presidents for Gun Safety” have signed an open letter advising “both our president and Congress to take action on gun control now.” In the letter, which was released Wednesday, the college administrators call on Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban and to disallow civilian purchase of high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The signatories identify themselves not just as college presidents but also as parents who do not represent a specific political party.
The letter does not call for abolishing the Second Amendment. Rather, it specifically argues against any law that “would allow gun possession on college campuses.” The signatories also endorse more gun safety precautions and removing the “gun-show loophole which allows for the purchase of guns from unlicensed sellers without a criminal background check.”
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the leaders of this initiative are the presidents of Oglethorpe University and the women’s college Agnes Scott, both liberal arts schools in Atlanta, Ga.
The majority of the presidents who signed the letter reside over small private, liberal-arts colleges, including 17 presidents from Pennsylvania and nine from Connecticut. Notable universities represented are Bucknell, Fordham, Morehouse, Maryland, Wake Forest, Washington and Lee and Wesleyan.
The letter claims that when “lawmakers shy away from taking action on one issue [gun safety],” they are “prevent[ing] thousands of young people from living lives of promise, let alone realizing their college dreams.”
The universities’ plea was instigated by last Friday’s Sandy Hook shooting, but their concerns are not necessarily a knee-jerk reaction to the tragedy. Conservative college students have been heavily campaigning for the right for carry concealed firearms on college campuses for the past several years, hosting events such as the “Empty Holster Protest,” a peaceful demonstration in which students attend class wearing empty holsters and discuss the issue with their peers. The university professors named “gun possession on campus” as one of the key reasons for the letter. The Newtown massacre likely served as an opportunity for college president’s to address long-held concerns about extending students and faculty’s right to concealed carry to college campuses.
