Anti-gun students and faculty members have expressed concerns as colleges in Texas, Kansas, and Georgia allow licensed individuals to carry weapons, but official statements suggest their fears are severely misplaced.
The new laws, known collectively as “campus carry,” officially went into effect in August 2016 in Texas. Kansas and Georgia joined the liberalization effort in July of this year. Critics of the more permissive policy allowing students to carry weapons on campus alleged the move would make campuses less safe, citing the numerous instances of violence in such environments.
However, campus authorities are reporting they’ve seen no instances were legally licensed students posed any problems.
“We have had no incidents since the law passed or since the law went into effect of criminal acts by license-to-carry holders,” UNT Police Chief Ed Reynolds told the Denton Record-Chronicle at the University of Texas. “We have had cases that involved weapons on campus, but the individuals that were carrying were not license-to-carry holders.”
Similar reports have emerged out of Georgia and Kansas, with the Atlanta Journal Constitution saying colleges experienced “no problems as school opens…state officials say no one has been charged with carrying a gun in a prohibited area.”
Assessments like this may come as a surprise to laymen and gun control activists, but no so much for honest members of the gun community in America. Responsible individuals armed with firearms ultimately make their communities safer, and act as a deterrent to would-be criminals. Hopefully, campus carry policies will be allowed to continue, and slow the instance of violent crime in such areas.
~ Firearm Daily
