Whether or not guns should be allowed on the UCF campus is a controversial topic anyone involved in is ready to defend, no matter what side of the issue.
To discuss HB 4005/SB 176, the UCF chapter of the United Faculty of Florida held a town hall meeting called “Guns in the Classroom” Friday afternoon.
The panel consisted of Lee Ross (Associate Professor- Department of Criminal Justice), Christine Mouton (Criminal Justice and Victim Services Coordinator), Deputy Chief Brett Meade (UCF Police Department), Lieutenant Earl Barber (UCF Police Department), Patti Brigham (Gun Safety Committee Chair, League of Women’s Voters) and Carlos Smith (Orange County Democratic Party Chair, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party Legislature).
Everybody on the panel was against allowing guns on campus.
“When it comes to college campuses, you gotta look at some other aspects here. You gotta look at these practical approaches. Especially when it comes to the fact: we don’t know who the bad guy is going to be. If everyone had to carry a concealed firearms permit, had to go through a hundred hours training; that might be something to look at, but you don’t have to do that and that’s what the real issue is,” said Deputy Meade.
Despite the one-sided panel, pro-gun advocates were aplenty in the audience and stated their opinions at the end of the meeting.
Addressing one of the panel speakers, UCF Phi Delta Theta President Jacob Milich said, “You talked about being afraid of students having guns. Students already have guns. Students already have concealed weapons. Even students who don’t have concealed weapons already have guns.”
With each side wanting to voice their opinion, the meeting ran over the scheduled time.
The UFF, along with the College Democrats, advocated their stand against guns on campus earlier this week.
Keep checking back on KnightNews.com for updates on this issue.
