With school violence on the rise and campus shootings becoming
increasingly more common, some states are rethinking their gun
laws. Instead of putting more useless restrictions on guns, many of
these states are looking into the possibility of allowing people
with valid permits to carry concealed weapons on school
grounds.
Arizona State Senate Bill 1214, for example, would allow
permit-holders of at least 21 years of age to carry concealed
firearms at K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.
Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho,
and Washington all have similar concealed-carry legislation
pending.
Currently, Utah is the only state that allows guns at all public
institutions of higher learning. In fact, state law makes it
illegal for public colleges and universities to create their own
restrictions regarding concealed carry. At least 11 institutions,
including all nine public colleges in Utah and Blue Ridge Community
College in Weyers Cave, Virginia, permit concealed carry on their
premises.
The University of Utah in Salt Lake City had banned firearms on
campus until the state’s supreme court struck down the ban in late
2006. Undaunted, the university is currently fighting in federal
courts to reinstate the ban.
State law in Colorado leaves the decision up to institutions
whether to allow concealed carry on their campuses. So far, the
Colorado State University is the only public institution in the
state to allow properly registered individuals to carry concealed
weapons.
W. Scott Lewis, the media spokesperson for the non-profit
organization Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, reported that
since allowing concealed carry on campus, the aforementioned
universities have not reported a single gun theft, incident of gun
violence, or gun accident.
“There is no evidence to suggest that allowing concealed carry
on college campuses will lead to more violence,” said Lewis.
CRITICS WORRY THAT loosening restrictions on concealed carry on
campuses would put guns in the hands of “just any college student,”
but this is not the case. Many students already own guns and use
them responsibly but aren’t allowed to bring them on campus.
In the 40 states that currently allow citizens to carry
concealed weapons, individuals can take their handguns to shopping
malls, grocery stores, office buildings, cinemas, banks, churches,
and most public places. None of these states have experienced an
increase in crimes or accidents involving guns since concealed
carry became legal.
Obtaining a concealed carry permit isn’t an easy process. Most
states require individuals to go through extensive background
checks, take and pass a concealed carry safety course and pay a
steep permit fee. To obtain a concealed carry permit in Utah, one
must be at least 21 years of age, have no criminal record —
everything from violent crime to the abuse of illegal substances is
disqualifying — and be mentally competent.
Most states require an individual to be at least 21 years of age
to obtain a concealed carry permit. But in Indiana, Maine, Montana,
New Hampshire, and the Dakotas, the age requirement is only 18.
What is most interesting about these states is that, according to
FBI and DOJ crime stats for 2006, they all have very low crime
rates. In fact, Maine, North and South Dakota, and New Hampshire
are four out of the five low crime U.S. states, and Montana has the
10th lowest recorded crime rate in the country.
It is clear in the case of these states that more lenient
concealed carry laws are not contributing to higher crime rates and
more violence. Numerous studies conducted by the Journal of
Legal Studies, Florida Department of Justice Statistics,
Florida Department of State, Texas Department of Public Safety, and
the U.S. Census Bureau have reconfirmed this.
Several sources report that concealed handgun license holders
are about five times less likely than non-license holders to commit
violent crimes.
ANTHONY RYAN, Colorado State University’s SCCC representative,
first became involved in the organization when researching
concealed carry laws regarding colleges and universities. He is
convinced that more guns do not cause more violence.
“It [concealed carry on campus] certainly has not produced the
opposite effect as opponents believe it will. If it truly makes us
safer or not, we don’t know,” he admitted. However, Ryan said that
there is sufficient evidence to believe that allowing concealed
weapons on campuses could “evens the odds” of survival in a tragic
event, such as the shootings that took place at Virginia
Polytechnic Institute or Northern Illinois University.
Tiffany Pickett is a student at Westminster College in Utah. She
said she owns a firearm and has a concealed carry permit. Because
Westminster is a private college, it does not have to follow state
mandates. Westminster does not allow concealed carry on campus but
that doesn’t prevent Pickett from trying to change regulations at
her school.
Pickett said she thinks that allowing concealed carry on campus
will make people think twice about committing acts of violence. “At
Virginia Tech, out of the 32 killed, 20 were over the age of 21 and
may have qualified for a concealed weapon permit. If that many
would have been carrying [a weapon] do you think 32 people would be
dead right now? Probably not,” she said.
Jim Manley, also a campus representative for SCCC, attends the
University of Colorado at Boulder. He argues that gun bans offer
the “illusion of safety,” which people find “comforting” right up
until “a tragedy like Virginia Tech shatters the illusion.”
AND THEN WHAT? “The question going forward,” said Manley, “is
whether we will rebuild the illusion with more gun control, or
endeavor to create schools that are actually safer by allowing
law-abiding guns owners to carry on campus.”
Advocates of concealed carry on campus aren’t trying to
re-create the Wild West. Rather, they insist that they are merely
trying to make their colleges less vulnerable to violent rampages.
“The perpetrators of mass shootings do not respect ‘gun-free’ zones
any more than they respect human life,” Manley reminded. So:
“Banning concealed carry on campus effectively bans
self-defense.”
