Abstract:
At the time of the current study, 11 states permitted campus carry at public universities and colleges. Although Missouri has one of the least restrictive gun laws in the United States, state regulations prohibiting campus carry have not been revised. Pro-gun rights legislators in the Missouri General Assembly have continued to introduce bills that would either permit campus carry or prohibit leaders of higher education from restricting campus carry. No studies have examined perceptions of students at any institution of higher education in Missouri about the advantages and disadvantages of campus carry, if permitted, or how campus safety might be impacted. This study used a qualitative phenomenological research design to examine the perceptions of undergraduate juniors and graduating seniors majoring in Urban Studies or enrolled in the pre-law program at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), a large public urban university in the Midwest, about the impact of carrying concealed firearms on campus safety if campus carry becomes law in Missouri. Five emerging themes were identified after data analysis: rationale for favoring campus carry related to campus safety; apprehensions about campus carry related to campus safety; advantages of campus carry related to safe learning environments; disadvantages of campus carry related to safe learning environments; and assessments of the impact on learning if faculty carried concealed firearms in class. Recommended actions based on findings from the current study include: creating greater opportunities for campus-wide dialogue about the advantages and disadvantages of campus carry, improving awareness about campus safety, and providing mandatory active shooter protocol training on college campuses. In addition, quantitative and qualitative research examining campus carry initiatives in Missouri and campus carry protocols at higher education institutions in U.S. states that permit campus carry should be conducted.