Here’s Why Campus Carry is a Catalyst for Chaos

It seems like 2018 was a horrible year for gun violence in schools, and that’s because it was. There were a staggering 94 school gun violence incidents last year — a record high since 1970 (US Naval Post Graduate School, 2018). Looking at the number of casualties, 2018 was also the worst year on record. An unprecedented 55 people, including the perpetrator, were killed in school gun violence. The second deadliest annual death toll was 40 back in 1993 (US Naval Post Graduate School, 2018). But it doesn’t seem that 2018 was a particularly abnormal year for mass shootings, regardless of whether they happened on school grounds. Delving deeper into the nuances of the tragedies, the numbers are even more disconcerting — there were 328 mass shootings in 2018, or nearly one a day, culminating in 365 killed and 1,301 injured. That is roughly in line with recent years going back to 2015, which averaged about one mass shooting a day (Gun Violence Archive, 2018). Therefore it is paramount that conservative states overturn their campus carry laws, otherwise the hapless cycle of gun related turmoil will ensue. Here is a detailed infographic which sheds light on some atrocities sparked by gun crime in schools in the US relative to other countries:

Mass school shootings have been on a dramatic rise since two decades ago.

What’s most terrifying is that these numbers seem to show no decline, and the number of mass shootings in the ongoing year seem to be on the rise — and are geared to eclipse those of the previous year. As I write this, there have been 283 mass shootings this year — out of which atleast 22 have been on educational grounds — which puts 2019 on pace to be the first year since 2016 with an average of more than one mass shooting per day (Silverstein, J. 2018). Moreover, a Washington Post report from 2015 suggests that people with concealed carry permits have committed atleast 29 mass shootings since 2007. (Ingraham, C. 2015). Therefore, the concealed carry permit — allowing students to legally carry arms on campus — is ineffective and exacerbates gun violence on school grounds, as seen by a plethora of evidence. Despite the fracas stemming from gun related violence, which has marred educational institutes in the US for the last two decades, there are 10 states which allow the permitted carry of guns on university campuses, inevitably providing the impetus for future shootings.

Statistics displaying types of violent crime on campus. No wonder firearm related crime comprises majority of on-campus criminal offenses.

Texas, in 2015, became the eight state to mandate public and private universities to allow civilians with permits to carry concealed guns in public places. What is both ironic and a chilling reminder of what this could transpire is that the University of Texas at Austin, a place that over five decades ago went through the tribulations of America’s first mass campus shooting, must now be open to guns being carried to campus. Institutions in other states which have the concealed carry laws in effect are also subjected to the constant threat of violent crime. A recent study reports that concealed carry leads to a 15% increase in violent crime, while factoring in all other tangibles (Basu, T. 2018). However, not all people seem to resonate with the same outlook on campus carry. There are thousands of advocates for campus carry in Austin, and other state capitals, whose doctrine is based on the notion that allowing more guns in public places will result in decreased violent crime, as people will be better equipped to handle perilous situations. Research though, rigorously debunks this narrative. A meta case study published by Johns Hopkins University indicates that bringing guns to college campuses indeed does increase risks for gun violence and suicides (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2016).

A bewildering 1 in 100 students have the permit to carry a firearm on campus (Left). Contrary to what many believe, public opinion suggests that most Texans have unfavorable views toward campus carry (Right).

Other proponents of campus carry tend to perpetuate another equally specious narrative — If guns were allowed at universities, people vulnerable to sexual assault could use them as means of self-defense. They often center their argument around women, bringing up that women are much more likely than men to get sexually assaulted in college, and carrying guns would be an ideal way of protecting themselves from attackers. This argument as well, is comprehensively refuted with the amount of evidence surrounding it. If carrying a gun was truly the most seamless way to defend oneself from sexual assault, in a country where carrying is not uncommon, you would expect people to report using a gun in this manner. Yet a Harvard Survey from 2007 to 2011 showed that out of the 62 cases in which a respondent got documented as a victim of violent crime and using a gun as means of self-defense, not one involved a sexual assault. Data from this survey also substantiates that once a crime is underway, the use of a gun by a victim in an act of self-defense did not affect his or her chances of getting injured whatsoever.

Research exhaustively debunks the narrative of carrying guns as means of self defense in educational institutions.

In an age where the country is rife with mental illness, campus carry could bring a whole new set of predicaments. It is hapless that college suicide is rarely discussed in the debate over campus carry policies. Infact, most public universities donot keep track of an excess of 1000 student suicides that occur every year (Ouinlan, C. 2018). It is stark that suicide attempts that lead to emergency treatment or death surge strikingly and peak during college years, and they have been on the rise in recent years (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). An expansive body of meta research studies ranging from comparative households unambiguously states that laws designed to expand firearm access intensifies the danger of suicide (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2016). Should this not be a momentous consideration for those who advocate guns on campus?

Numerous studies reveal that campus carry exacerbates mental health issues.

Contrary to what the detractors deliberate, it is not unfeasible to work towards a robust solution on mitigating campus gun violence. Research spanning decades has revealed that in states where the campus carry law is in effect, if measures are taken toward abolishing the law, the rates of gun violence will plummet. An extensive statistical analysis of 33 US states earlier this year is axiomatic of the fact that right-to-carry handgun laws trigger a 13% to 15% increase in violent crime a decade after the typical state adopts them (Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 2019). After all, pragmatism suggests that gun free zones are key to curb gun violence. Yet there are thousands of nationalists and advocates of the constitution who act oblivious to this rationale and foster campus carry in their states. How do you think is conscientious, as people living in America, to live under a law that has brought so much grief and pain to our country, over more than two decades?

American nationalists are quick to regurgitate their constitutional rights and play the narrative of the Second Amendment: A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed (Cornell Law School). What they cease to comprehend is that the Second Amendment of the constitution does not give them the right to carry concealed guns. A federal court appeal in San Francisco ruled that the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right of gun owners to carry concealed weapons in private places, upholding a California law that imposes stringent conditions on who may be granted a concealed-carry permit (The New York Times, 2016). As of this moment, eighteen states, including the District of Columbia, have a law or regulation that prohibits the possession of firearms on campuses of colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education. There are 21 states which either allow campus carry or are silent on that matter, leaving gun regulations to the governing bodies of colleges and universities in the state. The executive branch is responsible for enforcement, and the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the law on a case by case basis. Senators of states which allow campus carry should make appeals to the government to get the legislation overturned. Conservative states have an unambiguous roadmap to follow to spark positive change– state senators filing a referendum and working with national legislators to reach a consensus on what’s ideal for every American, which is overturning campus carry and effectively deeming educational institutions of all levels gun free zones.

Nationalists are quick to play the Second Amendment card in defense of campus carry laws.

As a college student studying in California, I would say its assuring that the state has some of the tightest gun laws in the country and is one of the 16 states — the others being Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Wyoming — which donot allow any form of campus carry of handguns. Even with the stringent laws, there is an omnipresent looming peril of an active shooter on campus, as seen with the recent scare of a potential shooting at the University of San Francisco (San Francisco Examiner, 2019). Perhaps the late great President John F. Kennedy said it best: “If not us, who? If not now, when?” We must be the generation to foster positive change by getting the conservatives realize the multifaceted tribulations campus carry has brought to America. If not, it is inevitable that the cycle of turmoil stemming from gun related violence in schools ensues.

California has some of the strictest campus carry laws in all of the country.

Works Cited

US Naval Post Graduate School (2018): Death’s in 2018 from mass shootings

Gun Violence Archive (2018). Retrieved from https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Silverstein, J (2019): There have been more mass shootings than days this year. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019more-massshootings-than-days-so-far-this-year

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2016/allowing-guns-on-collegecampusesunlikely-to-reduce-mass-shootings.html

Hill, S. (2017).** **Opinion: Campus carry an option that can make students safer. Atlanta News

Now. Retrieved from https://www.ajc.com/news/opinion/opinion-campus-carry-optionthatcan-make-students-safer/WuHX1bdL0k9b0T01kU3sF

Hemenway, D(2015). The epidemiology of self-defense gun use: evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys 2007–2011. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25910555

Quinlan, C(2018). Many colleges donot track suicide rates, even as campus carry policies spread. Retrieved from https://thinkprogress.org/campus-carrysuicide9c41b2debe28/

National Institute of Mental Health, (2017). Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml

National Bureau of Economic Research, (2012). Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w18187

Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, (2019). Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jels.12219

Cornell Law School. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/second_amendment

The New York Times, (2016). 2nd Amendment Does Not Guarantee Right to Carry Concealed Guns, Court Rules. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/10/us/second-amendment-concealed-carry.html

San Francisco Examiner, (2019). USF spooked by reports of shooting threat. https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/usf-spooked-by-reports-of-shooting-threat/