Keep Guns off Campus
Keep Guns off Campus
What does this solve?
College and university campuses should be places where students, faculty, staff, and visitors can learn, work, and participate in campus life without the threat of gun violence. That is why guns have no place on college campuses. Research shows that allowing guns on campuses is associated with more shootings, homicides, and suicides, and that it is unlikely to prevent mass shootings on campus.1Daniel W. Webster et al., “Firearms on College Campuses: Research Evidence and Policy Implications,” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, October 15, 2016, https://issuelab.org/resources/30243/30243.pdf.
The vast majority of states and colleges prohibit guns from being carried on campus either by law or by 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. Although the number of shootings on campuses has increased on average over the past decade,2Kathryn E. Rivera et al., “Gun Violence on College and University Campuses,” Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, October 9, 2026, https://everytownresearch.org/report/gun-violence-on-college-and-university-campuses/. campuses campuses remain among the safest environments for young adults in the country3National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 329.20: On-Campus Crimes, Arrests, and Referrals for Disciplinary Action per 10,000 Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE) Students at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, by Whether Institution Has Residence Halls, Control and Level of Institution, and Type of Incident: Selected Years, 2001 through 2021,” Digest of Education Statistics, 2023, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_329.20.asp; George Leef, “The Clery Act: Greater Campus Safety, or Just Greater Cost?,” Forbes, August 21, 2014, https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeleef/2014/08/20/the-clery-act-greater-campus-safety-or-just-greater-cost/; Kelsey Cundiff, “Colleges and Community Crime: An Analysis of Campus Proximity and Neighborhood Crime Rates,” Crime & Delinquency 67, no. 3 (November 24, 2020): 431–48, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0011128720974312; US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, “In Focus: Campus Safety,” August 18, 2020, https://www.ojp.gov/news/infocus/campus-safety.—forcing guns onto campuses only makes them less safe.
Which states don’t force colleges and universities to allow concealed guns on campus?
36 states have adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Alabama has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Alaska has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Arizona has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Arkansas has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders with enhanced certification must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
California has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Colorado has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Connecticut has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Delaware has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Florida has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Georgia has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Hawaii has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Idaho has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Enhanced carry permit holders must be allowed to carry in certain buildings and on campuses of public colleges.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Illinois has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Indiana has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Iowa has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Kansas has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Anyone 21+ must be allowed to carry on public campuses, so long as there are not adequate security measures. No permit is required. Limited restrictions on who may carry.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Kentucky has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Louisiana has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Maine has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Maryland has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Massachusetts has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Michigan has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Minnesota has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Mississippi has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Enhanced carry permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses. Students and employees are not included in the mandate.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Missouri has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Montana has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses. No permit is required; limited restrictions on who may carry.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Nebraska has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Nevada has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
New Hampshire has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
New Jersey has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
New Mexico has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
New York has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
North Carolina has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
North Dakota has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Ohio has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Oklahoma has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Oregon has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Pennsylvania has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Rhode Island has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
South Carolina has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
South Dakota has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Enhanced permitholders must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Tennessee has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Full-time employees with permits must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Texas has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Utah has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Vermont has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Virginia has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Washington has adopted this policy
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
West Virginia has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses.
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Wisconsin has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses
No Guns Mandate on College Campuses
Wyoming has not adopted this policy
- If not, where and to whom does the mandate apply?
- Permit holders must be allowed to carry on public campuses
How it Works
Keep guns off of college campuses.
Colleges are places of learning, and students should be free to express their opinions and learn without the fear of another student carrying a gun to a lecture or at a tailgate. Colleges also have unique risk factors that make the presence of guns potentially deadly.
In the states that have already passed legislation to force colleges to allow guns on campus, there have been gun homicides, suicides, unintentional shootings, and guns left unattended.1Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, “Gunfire on School Grounds,” https://everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-grounds/; Keep Guns Off Campus, “Incidents on Campus in States That Allow Guns on Campus (as of 1.13.25),” October 14, 2025, https://www.keepgunsoffcampus.org/incidents-on-campus-in-states-that-allow-guns-on-campus-as-of-1-13-25/.
Guns on campus policies and proposals have caused widespread opposition from professors,2Molly 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. administrators,3James H. Price et al., “University Presidents’ Perceptions and Practice Regarding the Carrying of Concealed Handguns on College Campuses,” Journal of American College Health62, no. 7 (October 3, 2014): 461–69, https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2014.920336. and students,4Matthew 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; 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; 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. increased fear amongst campus community members,5Jennifer McMahon-Howard, Heidi L. Scherer, and James T. McCafferty, “Examining the Effects of Passing a Campus Carry Law: Comparing Campus Safety Before and After Georgia’s New Campus Carry Law,” Journal of School Violence 20, no. 4 (2021): 430–44,https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2021.1930016; Ema O’Connor, “Texas LGBT Students Say They Don’t Feel Safe Now That People Can Carry Guns on Campus,” BuzzFeed News, August 29, 2016, https://bit.ly/3lL6j8G; Ema O’Connor, “Texas HBCU Students Worry More about Police Now That Guns Are Allowed on Campus,” BuzzFeed News, September 1, 2016, https://bit.ly/3qs4mBD. decreased confidence in campus police,6Jennifer McMahon-Howard, Heidi L. Scherer, and James T. McCafferty, “Examining the Effects of Passing a Campus Carry Law: Comparing Campus Safety Before and After Georgia’s New Campus Carry Law,” Journal of School Violence 20, no. 4 (2021): 430–44, https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2021.1930016. and lawsuits.7Matthew Watkins, “Three UT Professors Sue to Block Campus Carry,” Texas Tribune, July 6, 2016, https://bit.ly/36MJBsy; Eric Stirgus, “Professors Ask Court to Overturn Georgia’s Campus Carry Law,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 28, 2017, https://bit.ly/2We1Ocr. Guns on campus laws also cost universities significant amounts for security upgrades.8Maura Ewing, “New Campus Gun Laws Have Colleges Shopping for Metal Detectors. For Big Schools, the Bills Are Eye-Popping,” The Trace, April 25, 2017, https://bit.ly/36KYA6f; Kristen M. Clark, “Florida State Colleges to Ask Legislature for $74M to Enhance Campus Security,” Tampa Bay Times, December 17, 2015, https://bit.ly/2WhGIKf; “Concealed Carry Law Costs Idaho Colleges $3.7M,” Campus Safety Magazine, February 5, 2015, https://bit.ly/3orOME9; West Virginia Legislature, HB2519 Fiscal Note, February 7, 2019 https://bit.ly/3mAiLJB; Bill Dentzer, “2014 Concealed Weapons Law Costs Colleges $3.7 million,” Idaho Statesman, February 3, 2015, https://www.sdbor.edu/services/infogovrelations/documents/Idaho2014Law.pdf.
By the numbers
+20%
Over the last decade, campus shootings increased by an average of 20 percent year-over-year.
>50%
Over half of shooters on college and university campuses were unaffiliated with the school.
$2M
Three Kansas universities estimated that it would cost nearly $2 million to secure their athletic facilities in order to comply with the Kansas law that forces colleges to allow guns on campus if they don’t implement adequate security.
Myth & Fact
Myth
Allowing people to carry guns on campus is a way to deter campus violence.
Fact
There is currently no clear evidence for a significant decrease in major violent crime or burglary rates on public college and university campuses following the implementation of more permissive campus carry policies.1Rose M. C. Kagawa, Paul M. Reeping, and Hannah S. Laqueur, “Effects of Implementing Permissive Campus Carry Laws on Rates of Major Violence at Public Colleges and Universities,” Injury Epidemiology 12, no. 14 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-025-00566-0.
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