The anticipated consequences of legalizing guns on college campuses (original) (raw)

Gun attitudes on campus: United and divided by safety needs

The Journal of Social Psychology, 2018

All people share a need for safety. Yet, people's pursuit of safety can conflict when it comes to guns, where some people perceive guns as a means to safety and others perceive guns as a threat to safety. We examined this conflict on a United States college campus that prohibits guns. We distinguished between people (N = 11,390) who (a) own a gun for protection, (b) own a gun exclusively for reasons other than protection (e.g., collecting, sports), and (c) do not own a gun. Protection owners felt less safe on campus, supported allowing guns on campus, and reported that they and others would feel safer and that gun violence would decrease if they carried a gun on campus. Non-owners and non-protection owners felt the reverse. The findings suggest that protection concerns, rather than gun-ownership per se, account for diverging perceptions and attitudes about guns and gun control.

Concealed Carry University: Student Attitudes about Firearms on Campus

In the wake of firearm violence on university campuses in the United States including mass shootings, some pro-gun advocates have argued about the benefits of allowing students with concealed firearm permits to carry firearms on campus for both self defense and deterrence. However, this policy is allowed on few campuses. Nearly all states allow concealed carry permits for citizens but some have chosen to declare the universities as "gun-free zones". To further examine this issue from the student perspective, this study, relying on a survey of college students at a midsize Midwestern university examined their views on this issue. Students were asked about their favorability of allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry firearm on campus to enhance safety. The results indicate significant differences of opinion based on specific characteristics of the students and a general opposition to the policy. Implication of the research and suggestions for future research are also included in the article.

Social Status and the Effects of Legal Concealed Firearms on College Campuses

Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 2018

Research consistently shows that students and faculty are generally against expanding access to firearms on campus, and many stakeholders worry about the effects of campus carry laws on student violence, civility, and feelings of safety. We contribute to this literature by investigating how potential changes to campus carry policies affect students' reported commitment to campus activities. Theories explaining fear of crime and social commitment led to hypotheses that predict members of socially disadvantaged groups-specifically women and minority students-would report less favorable attitudes toward gun possession on campus, greater feelings of vulnerability to victimization, and less commitment to the college environment when students or staff may possess guns. Hypotheses received support, and add to the growing literature documenting potential issues that legislators, administrators, and faculty might consider when debating the enactment of campus carry policies.

Board 91: Conceal Carry of Handguns and Students’ Risk Perception at a University Setting

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

With the growing number of states that have enacted legislation permitting the concealed carrying of handguns on university campuses, there has been an ongoing and robust debate surrounding the new laws, particularly among students, faculty, campus police, and administrators in universities around the country. Since the enactment of Arkansas Act 562, permitting the concealed carrying of handguns on university campuses, little research has been conducted to investigate students' perceptions of risk associated with the new law. Therefore, the purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate whether engineering students' perceptions of risk of an active shooter event occurring on campus and their stated intention to obtain a concealed-carry license differ from other students on campus, and (2) to determine what factors predict students' stated intention to obtain a concealed-carry license. The investigator employed a survey of undergraduate engineering and education students (N = 89) in a four-year public university in Arkansas. The result of this study found that engineering students' desire to obtain a license was not different from other students on campus, despite differences such as political affiliation and gender. Further, engineering students' perception of risk of an active shooter event occurring on campus was less than other students. Finally, there were two significant predictors that contributed to both engineering and education students' desire to obtain a concealed carry license: (1) students' perceived need to defend themselves and others; and (2) students' perception of crime generally. These results suggest that culture influences students' attitudes and associated perceptions of risk about the concealed carrying of handguns on campus and gun laws generally. A literature review, theoretical framework, and scientific implications are also discussed.

Arming the Ivory Tower: Changing State Laws Relating to Firearms on College Campuses (1991-2016)

Multiple states have considered or passed legislation allowing open or concealed carrying of firearms on college campuses. To investigate this trend, we develop a theoretical framework for analyzing stability and change in state-level morality policy relating to guns on campus. To achieve that end, we first explain why campus gun policy is an example of morality policy. We then describe stability and change in state-level campus gun policy over the period 1991-2016, and identify specific eras of change/stability, the scope and nature of change, and time to change in campus gun policy. Next, we frame the diffusion of campus gun policy in social constructionism and argue that emulation is the likely mechanism by which diffusion of campus gun policy has occurred through such dynamics as “following the leader,” normative isomorphism, and perceived similarity among states. We conclude the paper by explaining how our model could be empirically tested. .

Student Perceptions of Faculty, Staff, and Students Carrying Concealed Weapons on Campus

2018

Reactions to gun violence and potential policies regarding gun control are often reactions to fear with schools being the focal point of gun control dialogue. From elementary schools to college campuses, the concealed carry debate exists. Should we allow staff, faculty, and at the college-level, students to carry concealed guns? Students at a private college in Florida were surveyed in regards to their attitudes towards concealed carry and campus safety. We tested a number of hypotheses related to how much time students spend being exposed to media, student perceptions of safety, and their attitudes toward concealed weapons on campus. Results show low levels of support for armed campus safety and concealed weapons for faculty among our student sample. Students were even less comfortable with other students being armed on campus. In support of previous research, conservative students were more likely to believe the media spends too much time covering gun violence. While our results s...

Guns on Campus: Surveying a rugged post-Heller/ McDonald landscape

American Studies in Scandinavia

In June 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees an individual the right to keep and bear arms. Two years later, this decision was also made applicable to state and local governments. Today, seven U.S. states have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on their public senior high school campuses. This article, introduced by a brief comment on the Second Amendment’s legal and academic history, traces several recent developments of legal change. It discusses relevant arguments and attitudes towards guns on campus, and explores issues of future concern for public colleges and universities within the realm of firearms and campus safety.

Carrying Concealed Weapons on Campus: Community College Students Perceptions of Safety

2020

Instances of violence on college campuses remain ever present prompting college administrators, law enforcement, and legislators to consider the increased emphasis on efforts surrounding safety and emergency preparedness at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Schildkraut, Carr, and Terranova (2018) expressed that feeling unsafe on campus may drive individuals to consider carrying of a weapon for protective reasons. Though the decision about whether a state and by extension, a particular college or university, permits concealed carry on campus ultimately falls to the legislature, it is prudent to consider the perceptions of students as they are the largest group of stakeholders potentially impacted (Schildkraut et al., 2018). This quantitative study examined the effect of carrying guns on campus and students' perceptions of safety. The participants were students recruited from two community colleges, one from a state allowing gun carry on campus, and one from a state not allowing carry on campus. The research used a previously validated survey instrument modified slightly to meet the sample population. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were utilized to analyze data. The findings of this research have implications for college administrators, legislators, students, and faculty regarding policy initiatives and campus safety. This research study indicated that there was a significant difference with regard to perceptions of community college students from a school in which concealed carry is permitted and one in which it is not, with those from the non-carry school indicating a higher perception of safety on campus.

College and University Faculty Perceptions Towards Carrying Concealed Firearms on Campus

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2017

This study uses a survey of university and college faculty members at two schools in the eastern United States to investigate their attitudes towards qualified faculty members and students carrying concealed firearms on their campuses. We found that faculty members who own a gun and are politically conservative were in favor concealed carry for qualified students and faculty, while liberal faculty member who are not gun owners were not.

Interpersonal consequences of legal handgun carrying on college campuses

Journal of American College Health, 2018

Objective: This study assessed whether college students felt less safe or were less likely to work with another student when they thought the person they would work with was carrying a handgun than when they did not. Participants: Seventy participants were recruited from a public US university where campus carry was legal. Methods: Participants were led to believe a confederate was carrying a handgun or not. Participants' perceived safety and willingness to work with others was assessed. Results: No difference was found in participants' perceived safety. Participants who believed another student was carrying a concealed handgun reported they would be less likely to perform certain tasks with the handgun carrier than they would with the non-carrier. Conclusions: People do not feel less safe around a handgun-carrying confederate and that allowing concealed handguns on campus might affect handgun carriers' interpersonal interactions with others in suboptimal ways.