We need to talk about guns. As a blue island in a sea of red, Kenyon is a uniquely firearm-free zone compared to much of the surrounding community. Whether I’m biking on the Gap Trail, or grilling in the North Campus Apartments, the telltale crack of a rifle has become a familiar noise. The right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment, which declares “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The Second Amendment is built on the natural rights sought in the Declaration of Independence and preserved in the Constitution, as it provides an ultimate safeguard should the federal government fail to protect the rights of the people. As such, the Second Amendment is a necessary tool, ensuring that all of us are granted our personal liberty, regardless of what the state has done to guarantee it. To me, the need to shield ourselves with firearms pertains not just to the liberty of life, but to property and freedom of individual identity. 

It is the right to property which our rural neighbors in Knox County have an acute need to defend, as their fields and livestock are under constant siege. Handling the critters stealing crops or killing animals is difficult, and one of the most foolproof tools is a gun. As the responsibility of the farm falls to the property owner, so must the responsibility of dispatching the trespassing animals. As guns aid in defending property, they are also an instrument for protecting life in rural counties where police response times may be slower than in urban ones. Firearms fill this gap, allowing residents to feel safe when the authorities might not be there to defend them. 

At Kenyon, we are afforded a margin of safety greater than that of the communities around us, with the Gambier deputy and the Office of Campus Safety on standby, granting students the ability and privilege to look down on our arms-bearing neighbors. Despite sitting in an ivory tower, however, we should be equally concerned about safety; if not on campus, then in the world we will enter upon graduation. While Knox County residents may worry about how their rural circumstances isolate them from law enforcement, Kenyon students must contend with the fact that their identities put them at risk wherever they go. 

Out in the real world, the type of disagreements that are handled peacefully at Kenyon frequently explode into violence. Instead of people or groups engaging on a plane of academic thought and debate, bullets and fire rain down. Every fatal attack on a person for their identity or stated beliefs is a reprehensible action that deprives that individual of the natural right to life that we all share. Charlie Kirk, the victims of Bondi Beach and the three people killed in a San Diego mosque were all taken from us recently. Each was attacked purely on the grounds of who they were. Stepping off the Hill, this is the world that Kenyon students face, one that has little time for discussion but enough firepower to silence each of us. It’s worth preparing to fight back.

In our classes, dining hall and debates, we as Kenyon students tend to engage in dialogue under the assumption that our First Amendment rights and personal identities will be treated as sacrosanct. That is, despite our disagreements about politics, religion, economic strategy, sexuality and gender ideology, there are few social or real-world repercussions within the Kenyon community. Of course, there are times when cordial discussion turns sour, breaking apart friendships and forming divisions within our tight-knit village, but, for the most part, there exists a high level of acceptance. This is not the case off campus.

According to the Kenyon College Firearms/Weapons Policy, the College prohibits the possession of firearms, ammo, explosives and other weapons, including facsimile versions, on all campus property, except in the case of law-enforcement officials and others specifically authorized by the College. Additionally, “Concealed Handgun Licensees and Active Duty Service Members may store a handgun in a locked motor vehicle.” While Kenyon provides us with the necessary tools to engage in the art of debate, we need more concrete options for conflict resolution off campus. To fully prepare the student body for adulthood, it is my firm belief that the students should seek to learn the more brutal, but sometimes necessary, forms of conflict resolution. It is one thing to speak out for your community, but another to defend it in its most crucial hour. I know it can be tempting to abhor firearm ownership on the basis of political identity, but when that identity might get you killed, what choice do you have? As a very left-leaning school, we have a tendency to push away armed law enforcement, cameras and other security measures both on campus and in the broader world, but to make up for lapses in policing, we need to be prepared ourselves. 

So go out, join a shooting club, take a class, make some local friends. Ohio’s gun laws allow students to hit the range, and I believe they should. In Gambier, safety comes naturally as a result of our geographic isolation, but every echoing shot through the valley should be a reminder that our countrymen are prepared and won’t always ask questions before shooting. 

Abraham Weiss ’29 is a political science major from Chicago. He can be reached at weiss3@kenyon.edu.