Exploring Student, Faculty, and Staff Support for Concealed Firearms on Campus Over Time

Abstract

Campus carry has become an important issue in higher education. This study examines how stakeholder attitudes changed in the period following the legalization of campus carry in one rural state. The data for the study were drawn from two electronic surveys administered to separate random samples of students, faculty, and staff at one university in 2015 and 2018. This study addresses two research questions. Do patterns in attitudes toward concealed campus carry change over time in the period following the legalization of campus carry? Do the predictors of support for campus carry change over time? The results suggest that support for concealed carry was higher among students than faculty, staff, and other nonfaculty professional across both time periods. However, there were only limited changes in the predictors of support over time. Policy issues are discussed.