BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The tragic shootings in Newtown, Conn., in December, along with memories of Columbine in 1999 and Virginia Tech in 2007, ensure that safety will be a primary concern as students return to school. Some advocates argue that college students should have the right to carry firearms on campus for self-protection. Six states -- Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin -- now require public universities to allow guns on campus.
Paul Helmke, professor of practice at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington, says such efforts ignore the fact that college campuses are safer than non-campus venues and that pushing more guns into the school setting can lead to serious problems.
"State permits allowing the 'concealed carry' of firearms are no guarantee that the individual understands the risks and responsibilities of gun ownership or is even an individual who has not been of concern to law enforcement," Helmke said, noting that, in the U.S., 18-year-olds are generally considered adults and are allowed to possess firearms.
"At the same time, college students are traditionally more prone to binge drinking and illegal drug use and to suicide than others," he said. "One wonders, also, what the prospect of students and faculty with guns would do to academic freedom, debate over controversial issues, the pressures of test-taking and grading, and student discipline.
"Combine all this with the increased likelihood of theft from a dorm room, student locker or backpack, and the potential for accidents in handling or transporting a firearm in a crowded college setting, and it is obvious why almost all universities ban guns on their campuses."
Helmke is former president and CEO of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and served three terms as mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind.
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