Collective Security, Fear of Crime, and Support for Concealed Firearms on a University Campus in the Western United States

Abstract

Recently, a number of state legislatures in the United States have sought to loosen restrictions on the carrying of concealed firearms on university campuses. Often these legislative initiatives are driven by the argument that concealed firearms on campuses will deter crime. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to variation in employee support for the carrying of concealed firearms. Moreover, little is known about the intersection between fear of crime, trust in the police, and support for concealed firearms on campus. Given that, this study draws on a survey administered to a random sample of faculty and staff at one large rural university in the Western United States ( n = 1,170). More specifically, this study examines whether fear of workplace violence and/or trust in police and local government predict/predicts support for concealed firearms on campus, even after controlling for other potential factors such as prior victimization, political orientation, and demographic background. Results indicate that fear of violence and distrust in the police/government are strongly related to support for concealed carry, though a number of other factors matter, including political orientation, social capital, and respondent demographic characteristics.

Acculturation and Campus Carry: Examining the Effect of Mexico Versus United States Cultural Orientations on College Students’ Support for Campus Carry

“…The finding that more favorable views of the police predicted increased support for campus carry, however, is less intuitive, especially given that several prior studies have reported a negative relationship between confidence in the police and campus carry support (De Angelis et al, 2017;McMahon-Howard et al, 2020;. One possible explanation for the finding in the present study is that people who consider police to treat community members with respect may themselves feel inspired to treat others more respectfully.…”

“…Fear of crime/victimization demonstrates a positive association with support for campus carry in some studies (Schafer et al, 2018;, and a negative association in others (De Angelis et al, 2017). Personal victimization, on the other hand, increased support for campus carry in at least one study , but generally fails to reach statistical significance (Satterfield & Wallace, 2020;Wallace, 2019).…”

“…At least one study, however, failed to find a relationship between confidence in campus police and support for campus carry (Jang et al, 2014). Low levels of trust in the federal government also predict a greater likelihood of supporting campus carry (De Angelis et al, 2017).…”

“…Research shows that confidence in both campus (McMahon-Howard et al, 2020) and community police (De Angelis et al, 2017;) is negatively associated with support for campus carry. Bouffard et al (2012) discovered, for example, that college students who displayed less confidence in the police were more likely to intend to obtain a conceal carry license for campus carry.…”

Campus Carry in Georgia: Challenges & Recommendations

“…"By simply reviewing the extant literature, it appears as if support for allowing the concealed carrying of weapons on campuses lacks sufficient legal standing and necessary empirical evidence" (Acheson & Arrigo, 2016, p.125). Statistically, the number of school shootings has not been significantly impacted since the passing of this bill (Angelis, Benz, & Gillham, 2017). Considering how new the bill is, the impact is yet to be seen.…”