Despite facing an onslaught of criticism from liberal professors and Democratic state politicians, the statistics from Kansas’ first six months of legal campus carry proves that allowing law-abiding gun owners to carry on campus has the potential to reduce crime without creating an unsafe campus environment.
Last summer, students were given the right to concealed carry on state university campuses in Kansas. A survey of more than 20,000 employees across all Kansas Board of Regents schools showed that faculty and administrators were vehemently opposed to the new law – nearly 50 percent of those surveyed expressed a belief that campus carry would increase crime on campus.
Despite these widespread beliefs, statistics from the University of Kansas police department show the number of crimes committed on campus decreased by 13 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. Furthermore, campus police did not record a single weapons violation on campus for the entire year.
The overall number of criminal offenses committed on campus dropped to 671 incidents in 2017 from 770 in 2016. While arrests for drug and alcohol offenses actually increased in 2017 compared to 2016, KU saw decreases in a number of violent crimes in which potential culprits were likely to think twice if an individual was carrying a concealed firearm.
For example, KU police reported more than a 50 percent decrease in assaults, with only 14 assaults in 2017 compared to 30 in 2016. Additionally, the campus saw significant decreases in both burglaries and thefts and experienced more than a 66 percent decrease in the number of car thefts on campus in 2017 compared to 2016.
After the new campus carry law was passed, a number of university faculty throughout Kansas publicly stated that they were trying to leave their university positions for new jobs because of the law. One distinguished professor in English at Kansas State University, Philip Nel, claimed he would be taking a leave of absence during the fall semester to look for new jobs. Additionally, Nel noted that if he were not able to find another job that was suitable, he would continue teaching at Kansas State this spring, but would limit his time on campus and cancel all office hours sessions.
Given these new statistics, it might be time for some professors to rethink their stance on campus carry as it relates to campus safety, especially in light of the gun debate after the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla.
John Patrick (@john_pat_rick) is a graduate of Canisius College and Georgia Southern University. He interned for Red Alert Politics during the summer of 2012 and has continued to contribute regularly.
