Deck 36: Guns on Campus: a Defense

Question 1

Timothy Hsiao and Kyle Blanchette talk a lot about self-defense in their essay. In your essay, explain the most important things that they say about self-defense (what it's about, where it comes from, etc.). Then, describe whether or not you think that Hsiao and Blanchette are right to talk about self-defense in this way. Is this how we want to think about self-defense, even beyond the gun debate? Or do Hsiao and Blanchette miss something in their description of self-defense?

Answer 1

Distill the most important components of Hsiao and Blanchette's view on self-defense from their essay.
Explain whether or not Hsiao and Blanchette are right to talk about self-defense as they do, and whether they fail to discuss anything of importance when it comes to the self-defense conversation.

Question 2

For example, there may be greater risks associated with adults carrying weapons in high schools and preschools. If those risks can be mitigated with well-targeted regulations instead of outright bans, these are to be preferred, given how vulnerable forced blanket disarmament makes those locations when it comes to threats like school shootings. The general idea here is that if we are going to regulate some practice, then less onerous regulations should be preferred to more onerous ones, all things being equal.
This particular view is pretty controversial. In your essay, explain whether or not Hsiao and Blanchette's position on concealed carry in preschools and high schools is the only way to think about this topic if you are a pro-concealed carry advocate. Then, explain your take on the question of whether or not adults should be able to carry guns at school. If they should be able to, who should be able to (teachers, staff, visiting parents, etc.)? If they shouldn't be able to, why not?

Answer 2

Discuss whether or not Hsiao and Blanchette's position on concealed carry at schools is a necessary is a necessary outgrowth of being a pro-concealed carry advocate.
Argue that adults should be able to carry concealed weapons at schools, explaining which adults should have this ability.
Or, argue that adults should not be able to carry concealed weapons at schools, explaining why.

Question 3

What do Timothy Hsiao and Kyle Blanchette mean when they say, "even if campus carry increased crime, it wouldn't justify banning it?" If they are right about this, are there any places where concealed carry should be banned? If so, where? If not, why not?

Answer 3

Explain what Hsiao and Blanchette mean when they argue that a ban on campus carry would not be justified even if allowing campus carry increased crime.
Discuss whether or not, in light of Hsiao and Blanchette's view, there are any places where there should be a ban on concealed carry.

Question 4

Which of the following best captures Hsiao and Blanchette's thesis?

A) We have strong moral rights to safety and security, and guns are especially apt at helping us exercise those rights
B) We have a strong moral obligation to stay alive, and guns are especially apt at helping us fulfill that obligation
C) We have good moral reasons to live good lives, and guns are especially apt at enabling us to live well
D) We have a strong moral right to live autonomously, and autonomy demands that we be free to own guns
E) We have a strong moral right to defend ourselves, and guns are especially apt at helping us exercise that right

Question 5

What is a negative right?

A) A claim to non-interference-a freedom to do something without constraint
B) A result of having a moral or legal claim or entitlement
C) A right that is absolutely guaranteed-a freedom to keep that which is naturally given
D) A responsibility that is morally generated-a duty to behave in some particular way
E) A right to a good or service-an entitlement to have something provided to its bearer

Question 6

What is a positive right?

A) A claim to non-interference-a freedom to do something without constraint
B) A result of having a moral or legal claim or entitlement
C) A right that is absolutely guaranteed-a freedom to keep that which is naturally given
D) A responsibility that is morally generated-a duty to behave in some particular way
E) A right to a good or service-an entitlement to have something provided to its bearer

Question 7

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the right to life?

A) It's the most important
B) Violations of this right are non-recoverable and irreversible
C) It's the most fundamental
D) It entails an obligation to stay alive
E) Other rights are ancillary to the right to life

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT entailed by the right to life, according to Hsiao and Blanchette?

A) The right to safety
B) The right to keep yourself alive
C) The right to the basic necessities of life
D) The right to self-defense
E) The right to stay alive

Question 9

Rights generate ________:

A) Reasons
B) Laws
C) Desires
D) Results
E) Duties

Question 10

Hsiao and Blanchette argue that the force of our right to self-defense derives primarily, if not entirely, from the positive right to safety or security

Question 11

Hsiao and Blanchette affirm that if you have a strong right to do X, ________, then you have a strong right to own and use Y

A) And Y is the most readily available way of doing X
B) And Y is the only way to guarantee that you will X
C) And Y is an especially apt tool for exercising X
D) And Y is a legal way of doing X
E) And Y doesn't increase the risk that other people won't be able to exercise X

Question 12

Why do Hsiao and Blanchette argue that campus carry is a natural extension of the right to self-defense?

A) Because campuses are especially dangerous places
B) Because our right to life follows us wherever we go
C) Because campuses must promote students' rights
D) Because guaranteeing a negative right should have no limits
E) Because having a right is both holy and sacred

Question 13

What do Hsiao and Blanchette say about the objection, "students and faculty will be afraid to speak their mind if they think that they might upset an armed individual in their midst?"

A) The fear is well-founded but it doesn't override the right to self-defense
B) An easy solution is not to advertise that campuses are concealed carry zones
C) The fear is irrational because campuses are dangerous and students with a license to carry will be good protectors
D) It would be a benefit all around if students and faculty feel more apprehension about speaking their minds
E) The fear is irrational because individuals who are licensed to carry are among the most law-abiding