Keep Guns off Campus
Keep Guns off Campus
What does this solve?
Guns have no place on college campuses. Campuses have unique risk factors, such as high rates of mental illness and an increased use of alcohol and drugs, that make the presence of guns potentially deadly.
The vast majority of states and colleges prohibit guns from being carried on campus either by law or choice. However, in recent years the gun lobby has pushed legislation to force guns onto college campuses against the wishes of most students, staff, and campus law enforcement.1Molly Hennessy-Fiske, “New Law Allowing Concealed Guns on Campus Roils University of Texas,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2016, https://lat.ms/2Ih12YJ; James A. Shepperd et al., “The Anticipated Consequences of Legalizing Guns on College Campuses,” Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 5, no. 1 (March 2018): 21–34, https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000097; James H. Price et al., “University Presidents’ Perceptions and Practice Regarding the Carrying of Concealed Handguns on College Campuses,” Journal of American College Health 62, no. 7 (October 3, 2014): 461–69, https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2014.920336; Matthew R. Hassett, Bitna Kim, and Chunghyeon Seo, “Attitudes toward Concealed Carry of Firearms on Campus: A Systematic Review of the Literature,” Journal of School Violence 19, no. 1 (2020): 48–61, https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2019.1703717; Charles Boothe, “Right to Protest: Students from across State Plan March against Campus Carry Bill,” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, March 3, 2019, https://bit.ly/33DSQZR; Conor Griffith, “WVU Students Protest against Campus Carry Bill,” Morgantown News, February 21, 2019, https://bit.ly/36xxYW8; Hilary Butschek, “UGA Students, Professors Protest ‘Campus Carry’ Bill, Demand Gun-Free Campus,” Florida Times-Union, March 17, 2016, https://bit.ly/36vMxcD; Dave Philipps, “University of Texas Students Find the Absurd in a New Gun Law,” New York Times, August 24, 2016, https://nyti.ms/2LcWZOf. And even though research shows that policies that force colleges to allow guns on campuses are likely to lead to more shootings, homicides, and suicides, and that they’re unlikely to prevent mass shootings on campus.2Daniel W. Webster et al., “Firearms on College Campuses: Research Evidence and Policy Implications,” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, October 15, 2016, https://gunviolence.issuelab.org/resources/30243/30243.pdf. In fact, campuses are already incredibly safe3Katrina Baum and Patsy Klaus, “Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002,” US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, January 2005, https://bit.ly/3orQ4iA; An Everytown Research analysis of the Gunfire on School Grounds database found an average of 10 gun homicides occur on college campuses each year (analysis included total gun homicide victims, excluding the shooter, on the grounds of colleges or universities between 2015 and 2019). and adding guns to the mix only makes them less so.
Myth & Fact
Myth
Allowing people to carry guns on campus will make them safer.
Fact
Campuses are already relatively safe: Among all violent crime against college students from 1995 through 2002, 93 percent of incidents took place off campus.1Katrina Baum and Patsy Klaus, “Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002,” US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, January 2005, https://bit.ly/3orQ4iA. According to Everytown for Gun Safety’s tracking of incidents of gunfire on school grounds, an average of 10 gun homicides occur on college campuses each year, while almost 20 million students attend colleges or universities.2Analysis of Everytown for Gun Safety’s Gunfire on School Grounds in the United States database, total gun homicide victims, excluding the shooter, on the grounds of colleges or universities between 2015 and 2019. For more information visit https://everytownresearch.org/gunfire-in-school/; US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, “Digest of Education Statistics, 2019, Table 105.30: Enrollment in Elementary, Secondary, and Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, by Level and Control of Institution: Selected Years, 1869-70 through Fall 2029,” December 2019, https://bit.ly/2LH5GR9.
Featured Resources
How To Stop Shootings and Gun Violence in Schools: A Plan to Keep Students Safe
We need meaningful actions to keep our schools safe, actions that address what we know about gun violence in America’s schools.
The Danger of Guns on Campus
Guns on campus are likely to lead to more shootings, homicides, and suicides, and they’re unlikely to prevent mass shootings.
Gunfire on School Grounds
Since 2013, Everytown has tracked incidents of gunfire on school grounds to learn how often youth are affected by gun violence.
All Resources
Keep Guns off Campus
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