Sexual assault is a widespread issue facing millennials — specifically women on college campuses. This month alone, there have been two high profile cases involving student athletes from Stanford and Vanderbilt who have both been convicted of assaulting young women while they were unconscious. Unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents; sexual assault is common at schools across the country.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has proposed unoriginal solutions that will do nothing to reduce these sex crimes. Clinton does not believe women should be able to carry a concealed firearm on college campuses to defend themselves from sexual assault, and she is wrong.
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Hillary Clinton, who claims to be a champion for women, has pledged to fight for sexual assault victims and combat the problem on college campuses. The presidential hopeful has promised to increase due process in the criminal justice system on campuses, provide support to victims, and increase education about sexual assault. Ironically, Mrs. Clinton even has this message for sexual assault victims:
“Don’t let anyone silence your voice, you have the right to be heard, the right be believed, and we are with you as you go forward.”
Hillary Clinton has made it clear that she does not truly care for victims of these assaults, since she silenced her husband’s victims for the sake of her political reputation. As Mrs. Clinton battles for the White House, she proposes solutions not tough enough to stand up to sexual assault. Although supporting victims of sexual assault is of the utmost importance, the problem is too vast to be solved by simply increasing support and awareness. If Clinton truly cared for these victims, she would see the solution to this trend on college campuses is simple: arming potential victims. No, Mrs. Clinton, I am not referring to arming students with ineffective methods such as blue light systems, literature on sexual assault, or rape whistles. College students must be able to defend themselves in these situations, and the only way to do that is to carry a concealed firearm.
Allowing students to carry a concealed firearm on campus is the only effective way to address the continual threat of sexual crimes. It has been proven that states that allow concealed carry have the lowest violent crime and murder rates and will likely reduce sexual assault in the same manner. College campuses, which are gun-free zones, are an assailant’s ideal prey. Gun-free zones do not deter criminals with intent to harm, concealed firearms do.
Sexual assault survivor Kimberly Corban reflects on her rape as a college student and advocates for campus carry:
“…If a campus carry ban is passed, your daughters, sisters, mothers, and friends are rendered defenseless on our campuses before we are even violated. A firearm levels the playing field…Rapists, like the one in my case, do not need a weapon to commit their crimes, and those who do use a firearm we know completely ignore the imaginary lines called “gun-free zones.” Do not confuse a false sense of safety due to a ban on concealed carry with actual safety.”
The Second Amendment was written into the Constitution so that citizens could protect themselves. The solution to reducing and eradicating sexual assault is just that: self-defense. The current methods and those proposed by Hillary Clinton to assist college students and deter assaults are leaving victims defenseless. The only way to reduce sexual assault on campus is to arm college students with the best, most effective method of deterring crime: concealed firearms.
