Democrats and Republicans came together to debate gun control and education during Saturday's convention sponsored by the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans (MACR).
Boston College's Mike Reer and UMass Dartmouth's Ben Tansey, both from the MACR, squared off against Bentley College's Christopher Campbell and Smith College's Jordan Barbeau, both from the College Democrats of Massachusetts (CDM).
Reer opened by supporting the right of citizens to bear arms, noting that outlawing guns would not necessarily deter crime.
"If guns were outlawed, then only outlaws would have guns," he said.
He also said that restricting gun ownership could create a slippery slope.
"If the Second Amendment were to be ignored, which amendment will we ignore next?" he asked.
Barbeau responded for the Democrats by saying that they were arguing for increased checks rather than a complete ban on guns.
"We can control the problem by instituting background checks, waiting periods, stopping the sale of assault rifles and only selling guns with trigger locks and fingerprint scanners," he said.
The debate then turned to Massachusetts' Governor Deval Patrick's proposed education plan, which would pay for preschool for in-state children, extend the school day and year and make the state's two-year community colleges free by 2015.
Campbell supported the bill.
"We must make sure that our students get the proper education that they deserve. This initiative will prompt our students to do better in school and in life," he said.
But Tansey said that Patrick's plan ignores the root cause of educational gaps.
"It's not the government's fault that our education system in Massachusetts is full of problems. It's the fault of the teachers unions," he said. "Governor Patrick only created this plan as a 'thank you' to the teachers unions who helped him get elected."
Tufts Republicans President Dan Hartman said he was happy with the debate. "I thought it was productive dialogue," he said. "I think after the discussion we had yesterday, we'll have more of these in the future."
