Dive Brief:
- An article by University of North Georgia Professor Matthew Boedy which ran Monday in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines the track record of people on campus protecting themselves from imminent threat in the two states that have allowed guns on campus the longest: Utah and Colorado.
- While incidents of rape and robbery persisted, Boedy argued, not one victim has reported success in stopping a crime in progress with a gun in over 10 years of campus carry laws being in effect.
- Boedy acknowledged a large number of crimes go unreported, but cited incidents in which a student's having a gun actually hindered the pursuit of justice rather than protecting students from wrongdoers.
Dive Insight:
Many states which are weighing campus carry legislation are doing so against the wishes of faculty, staff and administrators at the state's public campuses. And in some cases, as is the case in Georgia, such attempts fly in the face of voters' wishes, too.
While some are concerned about the ramifications of guns on campus when tensions are high over a grade dispute or personnel termination, others argue that allowing guns on campus would help stem violent crime and deter mass shootings on campus. Some officials in states which have already implemented campus carry legislation say concerns have been overblown, and there have generally been no problems, which Boedy's own research might confirm.