School shootings have significantly changed American history over the past two decades. From 1997 to 2007, more than 40 school shootings occurred, resulting in more than 70 deaths and many more injuries. The number of school shootings has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. There are no limits on how old the child would be or how many people they could kill or hurt. In Mount Morris Township, Michigan, on February 29, 2000, there was a 6-year-old boy who shot and killed another 6-year-old girl at Buell Elementary School with a .32 caliber handgun. And although many shootings have occurred in high schools and middle schools, having more guns on those campuses would not be a good environment for children to grow up in. However, on a college campus, the students attending are no longer children; the age range is from 17 to 20 years. Therefore they understand the consequences of using weapons and have gained greater maturity. On April 16, 2007, in Blacksburg, Virginia, there was a shooting spree triggered by Sung-Hui Cho (23, of Centerville, Virginia) who fired over 170 shots, killing 32 victims, before taking his own life at Virginia Tech. campus. Colleges and universities would be much safer places, for students and teachers, if firearms were allowed on campuses for self-defense purposes. College campuses are more dangerous than ever because of the past decade; weapons have not only been overproduced, but are also available and easily accessible. According to James Cool (2008), an advocate for firearms on campus, explained why the increase in guns has occurred recently; “Our nation was founded… around the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available through industry… middle of paper… it is our job as citizens to at least be prepared attacking criminals and able to defend ourselves in times of need. At the Virginia Tech shooting, it took responding police officers about three minutes to reach the school, but about five minutes to break through the chains holding the doors together. Cho fired shots for about nine minutes. Of those nine minutes, only four, or less, could have happened if a professor or other university staff had stopped the aggressive action before the tragedy occurred. Sometimes the police fail to arrive there quickly enough to save a life; citizens must be prepared for the worst: one thing is certain: one would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. People often ask, “Why would I have a gun?” Well, guns are necessary when seconds count and the police are minutes away.