Concealed Weapons, College Campuses, and You

This month, the Lone Star State became the latest to take a hard look at enacting legislation that would allow students at colleges and universities to carry concealed weapons on campus.  That Texas is considering such a measure comes as little surprise.  The state’s flagship University of Texas at Austin was the site of both a September 2010 shooting and the infamous 1966 “Tower Sniper” episode, and more than 500,000 Texans hold concealed-weapon permits.  Though the proposal is not yet up for a vote in either chamber, it appears to have the support of both the state Senate and House of Representatives and of Governor Perry.

Last year, gun-rights advocates in Colorado tangled with university administrators over campus gun bans, and students at public universities in Utah have been able to carry concealed weapons on campus since 2006 after a protracted legal struggle that ended with a Utah Supreme Court ruling. Perhaps motivated by the recent tragic shooting in Tucson, some Arizona lawmakers are calling for “campus carry” laws, and legislatures in Tennessee, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Florida have also examined enacting similar measures.

Supporters argue that a student’s presence on campus should not interfere with their constitutionally protected right to bear arms. In light of recent high-profile campus shootings, they add, students should have the ability to protect themselves and their classmates from deadly force. Opponents, on the other hand, worry about allowing students to carry concealed deadly weapons while living and learning in close quarters with thousands of others. College is full of significant academic, social, financial, and emotional stress during an already-volatile period in many young people’s development. Explaining his opposition to the measure, UT-Austin’s president, William Powers Jr., commented that while situations requiring deadly force for self-defense are relatively rare, “Friday and Saturday night come every week on campus.”  The faculty Senate of the University of Tennessee has also announced its opposition to a similar state proposal.

Powers’ point is compelling, as it’s hard to imagine that the knowledge that a fellow student may be carrying a gun would have no effect on the university environment.  College classrooms are intended to be a place for civil discourse and lively debate, where the consequences of open disagreement should never be feared; legislators should not overlook the possibility that the presence of guns may stifle unfettered academic thought.  And classrooms are not the only arena in which this policy could pose problems.  Administrative offices handle student complaints about grades, financial aid, accusations of academic dishonesty, and other contentious issues. Students in dorms study long hours, make and break friendships, fall in and out of love, drink alcohol, attend parties, and generally cope with the stress of being an adolescent in college. In short, there are too many scenarios in which the negative consequences of guns on campus would seem to outweigh potential benefits.

Campus safety is a legitimate and serious concern, but there are more nuanced solutions to this problem than simply permitting students the means to take matters into their own hands.  Many schools have worked hard since the Virginia Tech shootings to improve their emergency response systems, increase the presence of on-campus police, and implement instant-notification systems to warn students of potential threats. If Texas legislators are truly motivated by safety concerns, they should take steps to strengthen or even mandate more stringent campus security systems.  Allowing students to pack handguns along with their laptops and textbooks, however, is simply far more trouble than it’s worth.