Module 8 Vorderbruggen
8.4 case study questions 2,3,4
2. I believe employees have a moral right to store firearms in their vehicles while at work. I think it can be argued well enough that a vehicles count as private property, so while the car is indeed parked on a company’s private property of a parking lot, the gun is still contained within the owner’s property. As long as the firearm does not LEAVE the car, except in case of dire emergency, they should be able to store it there.
However, I also think the company should have the legal right to ban guns on their premise, within vehicles or not. The company should have the final say, legally, about the subject, as any incident with firearms would be on their property or in their facility. Because of this, I believe their concern is warranted, as an armed conflict on company property would lead to a large amount of legal concerns.
3. If companies ban firearms from their parking lots, I do not believe it would be “a wrecking ball to the second amendment.” The company is not the government, and private policy is not gun-restricting legislature. It is a park of the work environment, and should be left to a case-by-case basis for each company to decide how to approach the issue. I believe, slightly, that gun advocates have politicized the issue, which can lead to absolutes or wild accusations about the government.
“Corporations are not individuals, they argue, but artificial legal entities, whose ‘rights’ are entirely at the discretion of the state.” (pg322)
If it is true that anti-gun agendas are being pushed through corporations by the government, then I would be willing to agree about the whole wrecking ball thing. But as it stands, I would like to think that companies have enough independence that they are allowed to decide workplace policy on their own.
4.The topic of guns in schools is a hot button issue. However, I do not think arming teachers is a correct answer. Kids, especially ones in younger grades, can hurt themselves in many different ways. And, in these early grades, it can be a valuable lesson. “Don’t run with scissors.” “Don’t try to balance on the exercise ball.” “Tie your shoelaces.”
I don’t believe having a firearm in the classroom is a safe idea. Negligence is a common mishap, and regardless of how well these teachers are instructed, accidents are bound to happen.
Someone could easily state that any mishaps would be overshadowed by the benefit of deterring potential shooters, and it’s a fair point. Whether or not having firearms in a school increases or decreases the safety of the working environment is a tricky question, and one without any past precedent. It is something that could go either way.