Campus Carry
Restoring Safety and Freedom to America’s Colleges
Anti-gun politicians love to pretend that banning firearms on campus makes students safer. But the truth is the opposite: so-called “gun-free zones” are magnets for killers. From Virginia Tech in 2007 to Umpqua Community College in 2015, murderers choose soft targets precisely because they know no one will shoot back. Research confirms it: 94 % of mass public shootings since 1950 have occurred in gun-free zones
Campus carry flips the script. Instead of disarming the innocent, it empowers law-abiding students, faculty, and staff to defend themselves — just as they can at the grocery store, in church, or at the mall.
Promoting Personal Safety
College campuses are not immune to violence. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education reported over 27,000 criminal incidents on campuses in one year (Dept. of Education, Campus Safety & Security Survey). Yet students are told their right to self-defense ends at the edge of campus.
Campus carry restores that right. In states like Texas, which legalized licensed carry on colleges in 2016, forecasts of disaster failed to materialize. After one year, gun crime rates on campus were “not much different” than before campus carry took effect.
Even the Texas Tribune conceded that campus carry has not produced “major incidents” or increased violence in the years since implementation (Texas Tribune, 2018)
The lesson is clear: law-abiding students carrying concealed firearms make campuses safer, not more dangerous.
Upholding Individual Rights
The right to keep and bear arms is not a “campus privilege” — it is a God-given, constitutionally protected right. The Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to own and carry firearms for self-defense (District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008).
When a student walks onto a college campus, they do not leave their rights at the gate. Disarming law-abiding citizens while criminals ignore the rules is not safety — it’s state-mandated victimhood.
A Culture of Responsibility
The Left smears concealed carry license holders as “reckless.” But the data destroys that myth. In Texas, license holders are convicted of crimes at one-sixth the rate of police officers (Texas Department of Public Safety Annual Report). That’s not recklessness — that’s responsibility.
Every licensed carrier has undergone background checks, fingerprinting, and in many states, mandatory training. They are the last people lawmakers should fear, and the first people students can count on when seconds matter.
Busting the Myth of More Guns = More Violence
Opponents of campus carry recycle the same scare tactics: that students will start “shootouts” over grades or arguments. But real-world evidence says otherwise.
Utah has allowed campus carry since 2004 with no documented spike in campus shootings.
Colorado adopted campus carry in 2012 after legal battles — again, no surge in gun violence.
Texas, Georgia, and others followed suit — and to date, studies show zero correlation between campus carry and higher crime.
The myth has collapsed under the weight of facts. The only people who truly oppose campus carry are those who oppose gun rights altogether.
Respecting State and Individual Rights
The genius of campus carry laws is that they respect both individual liberty and states’ rights. Utah’s policy may not look identical to Georgia’s, but the principle is the same: freedom over fear.
And that’s the point. Our nation was founded on the belief that individuals, not bureaucrats, are best equipped to defend their lives and liberties.
Solution? End “Victim Zones”
Campus carry is not about politics — it’s about survival. It’s about refusing to let politicians and campus administrators turn classrooms into victim zones.
Law-abiding Americans deserve the right to defend themselves everywhere, including on campus. The data is clear, the constitutional principles are firm, and the moral case is undeniable: campus carry saves lives.
As Texas Gun Rights, we will never compromise on this truth. We will continue fighting to ensure that students, faculty, and staff have the same right to self-defense on campus as they do everywhere else — because the Second Amendment doesn’t end where higher education begins.
👉 Chip in today to Texas Gun Rights and help us eliminate “gun-free zones” once and for all.
Because without the Second Amendment, none of our other freedoms survive.
🔎 Campus Carry: Myths vs. Facts
MYTH: “Campus carry will lead to more shootings and accidents.”
FACT: States like Utah (since 2004), Colorado (since 2012), and Texas (since 2016) have allowed campus carry with no increase in firearm incidents.
MYTH: “Students are too irresponsible to carry guns.”
FACT: Concealed carry permit holders are more law-abiding than police officers. In Texas, license holders are convicted at one-sixth the rate of police.
MYTH: “Gun-free zones make campuses safer.”
FACT: 94% of mass public shootings since 1950 happened in gun-free zones — because killers prefer unarmed victims.
MYTH: “Background checks and permits don’t weed out dangerous people.”
FACT: Every campus carry holder passes rigorous background checks, fingerprinting, and in many states, training. Criminals don’t follow the law — but law-abiding students do.
MYTH: “Campus carry isn’t needed because police will protect us.”
FACT: The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that police have no legal duty to protect you (Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 2005). In active shooter situations, police usually arrive after the carnage has already begun.
Bottom Line 👉 Campus carry empowers responsible Americans, deters killers, and restores the Second Amendment where it belongs — everywhere.