The first state to legalize campus carry on a statewide basis was Utah in 2004.^[3] In 2012, in a lawsuit brought by the activist group Students for Concealed Carry, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the 2003 Colorado Concealed Carry Act prohibited public universities in the state from regulating the possession of concealed handguns on campus. Before the 2012 decision, the University of Colorado System, although not other Colorado public universities had banned firearms possessions on its property, as a non-binding state attorney general's opinion stated that the University of Colorado was not subject to the Concealed Carry Act.^[4][5]

Campus carry falls under the general gun debate in the United States.

Argument in opposition edit

Opponents believe that permitting firearms in a classroom would lead to disruption in the learning processes of students and diminish the overall safety of students. "Ball State University found that 78% of students from 15 Midwestern colleges and universities would feel unsafe if students, faculty and visitors carried concealed firearms on campus" (Marc Randsford, 2014).^[6] In a study published in 2012, survey results from two college campuses indicated a majority of faculty, students, and staff (73%) did not want qualified individuals to be able to carry a gun on campus, 70% did not feel safer with more concealed guns on campus, and 72% did not think armed faculty, students, and staff would promote a greater sense of campus safety.^[7]

Argument in favor edit

Proponents of campus carry argue that 94% of mass shootings occur in gun-free zones.^[8] Therefore it is argued, by passing campus carry, mass shootings on college campuses will decrease. Additionally, despite students stating that they would feel less safe with campus carry, there has been no increase in violence on campuses with campus carry.^[9] Proponents argue that college campuses are open to the public by nature, so enforcement of campus carry restrictions would be near-impossible, and would not stop a bad actor. This argument is also used to address the “chilling” effect of campus carry, by holding that anyone could have a concealed weapon on their person, even on campuses with restrictions on campus carry.^[10] Finally, proponents argue that campus carry violates the Second Amendment rights of adult students. In June of 2022, the Supreme Court in NYSRPA v. Bruen held that the right to carry a firearm extends outside the home, with limited exceptions.

There are three different forms of campus carry laws that states enact: mandatory, institutional, or non-permissive.

Mandatory refers to a law or court decision which requires a publicly funded institution to generally allow firearms on campus, though some locations may be exempted depending on the school policy (e.g. in a secure area, or at a sporting event). Restricted areas vary by state and individual school; refer to a school's specific policy for details. Some states require the firearm to be concealed (e.g. Texas) while others allow concealed or open carry (e.g. Utah).

Institutional refers to the decision of each institution to determine whether to allow firearms on campus. School firearm policies generally do not have the force of law. The majority of institutions in these states opt to ban guns with a few exceptions (e.g. Liberty University).

Non-permissive refers to the prohibition of firearms on any institutional property by law, with limited exceptions.

For full details for each state, including references to state laws and campus policies, see references.^[1][11][12]

• Gun politics in the United States
• School shootings
• Higher education in the United States
• Concealed carry in the United States
• Gun politics