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gun control007

gun control007 Fellow students we at Berry face a real problem when it comes to gun usage. Despite our rural setting and the privilege many of us have shared in growing up knowing how to use a gun there are many on our campus who live in ignorance and sometimes fear. The willingness of the administration to register our guns if we choose to hunt indicates an awareness that there are hunters among us. Yet the policy of no hunting still exists across campus. The fact that we have a health clinic and a nearby hospital indicates the awareness of the dangers inherent in gun usage. In fact if someone was accidentally shot I do not doubt they would receive medical care immediately. Health care is available to those who are hurt using a gun on campus. However many people are afraid to discuss their guns openly due to Berry’s no hunting policy. This attitude has created a climate of ignorance that encourages people to make irresponsible choices when it comes to guns. It has been proven that those who have been through a hunter safety course are much safer in their usage and handling of guns and are less likely to experience an accident. Why can’t we have hunter safety courses on campus? Indeed why not sell ammunition in a central campus location? Some ammunition is clearly inferior and is dangerous. Would it be hypocritical of a school where hunting is not allowed to sell ammunition? Would it be hypocritical to provide hunter safety courses? I would argue that there is nothing hypocritical in catering to our off campus students or on campus students who hunt off campus. While of course the choice is ultimately an individual one as to whether or not to hunt safely and with the proper equipment, Berry is in a position to take the supportive role in the ongoing battle. Hunter safety courses, and/or free quality ammunition, come at a much lesser cost than having guns exploding in the faces of students or the errant hunter hitting a Honda accord instead of a deer. Education is key but for the many who are already engaging in this activity there is no reason ammunition couldn’t cost less and be available in an educational and easily accessible environment. Cost and convenience should not be a factor when it comes to safety. Just as there is nothing inherently wrong with hunting there is nothing inherently wrong with sex. However both are only appropriate under certain parameters. Hunting is only okay within the framework set up to regulate it. Sex is exactly the same. It has been created by God and it is appropriate and wonderful within marriage. However outside of marriage it is a sin and can carry some serious and indeed lifechanging consequences like pregnancy or HIV. Berry has sought to provide support and help for those who may be experiencing the consequences of bad choices. However our school does not need to provide condoms on campus and doing so would not create a more supportive environment it would create a confusing one. In our lifetimes condoms in schools have become the norm and these have not led to a decrease in abortion rates. They have instead led to a further abdication of personal responsibility. Abstinence is the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and by not providing condoms Berry continues to send a consistent message that we do not support sexual activity on campus. If anyone thinks that condoms are inaccessible or extremely expensive I would question their credibility. Condoms are readily available but just as it would be ridiculous to sell ammo on a campus where hunting is not permitted given out condoms here would be hypocritical and irresponsible. Some have said that providing condoms is not an invitation for students on our campus to have sex. While I am sure we all know some guys who would just carry them around in their pockets and show them to their friends, these are guys who just want to show off anyway. I am sure we could find some other uses for condoms, bingo chips, water balloons or even perhaps something to chew on when gum is scarce. Despite all their many other charms we all know condoms are only designed for one thing. Providing a wink and a smile or even a stern education and a condom is in no way a service to the students of our college if it in any way facilitates immoral activity. People will say that those who want to have sex will have it regardless so they might as well do it safely. This argument can be used to do everything from putting needles in the hands of drug addicts to giving a car thief a slim jim so the danger of breaking a window is avoided. In our culture we continue to use these pathetic arguments to enable people to “safely” engage in all manner of pursuits that are not safe. Berry would be better served if we had abstinence based sex education. Sex education that was based on stressing abstinence could be beneficial in providing a more supportive atmosphere for both male and female students, enabling them to make appropriate and responsible choices about their sexual behavior. Speakers could be brought in who would be able to address issues such as pregnancy and HIV and bring home the consequences of our choices in an effective manner. The failure ratio of condoms as a birth control device and also as a shield against STDs could be discussed. Sexuality could be discussed and explored not as something shameful or to be hidden but as something beautiful that was designed by God for a purpose. This type of approach would be much more effective in fostering an atmosphere that encourages responsible and appropriate choices, than passing out condoms at the Ladd center. Just as there is nothing inherently wrong with hunting there is nothing inherently wrong with sex. However both are only appropriate under certain parameters. Hunting is only okay within the framework set up to regulate it. Sex is exactly the same. It has been created by God and it is appropriate and wonderful within marriage. However outside of marriage it is a sin and can carry some serious and indeed lifechanging consequences like pregnancy or HIV. Berry has sought to provide support and help for those who may be experiencing the consequences of bad choices. However our school does not need to provide condoms on campus and doing so would not create a more supportive environment it would create a confusing one. In our lifetimes condoms in schools have become the norm and these have not led to a decrease in abortion rates. They have instead led to a further abdication of personal responsibility. Abstinence is the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and by not providing condoms Berry continues to send a consistent message that we do not support sexual activity on campus. If anyone thinks that condoms are inaccessible or extremely expensive I would question their credibility. Condoms are readily available but just as it would be ridiculous to sell ammo on a campus where hunting is not permitted given out condoms here would be hypocritical and irresponsible. Some have said that providing condoms is not an invitation for students on our campus to have sex. While I am sure we all know some guys who would just carry them around in their pockets and show them to their friends, these are guys who just want to show off anyway. I am sure we could find some other uses for condoms, bingo chips, water balloons or even perhaps something to chew on when gum is scarce. Despite all their many other charms we all know, condoms are only designed for one thing. Providing a wink and a smile or even a stern education and a condom is in no way a service to the students of our college if it in any way facilitates immoral activity. People will say that those who want to have sex will have it regardless so they might as well do it safely. This argument can be used to do everything from putting needles in the hands of drug addicts to giving a car thief a slim jim so the danger of breaking a window is avoided. In our culture, we continue to use these pathetic arguments to enable people to “safely” engage in all manner of pursuits that are not safe. Berry would be better served if we had abstinence based sex education 1. Berry College Administrative Staff, The Viking Code ( Rome, GA, 1998-99), 20. 2. “Condoms.” Editorial Campus Carrier 25 Feb. 1999. 3. “How Reliable are Condoms? “ Consumer Reports 1995: 320-325. 4. Bible New International Version. Bibliography:

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