I have been asked by readers if I could formulate a list of colleges that are gun friendly. Some particular readers are considering applying to college and would like to know which schools will allow guns and which ones will not. This is far from an easy chore to do. I contacted the National Rifle Association and basically got no help. Their answer seemed to be to tell them which school you are considering and they would help find out about that school.
I’ll share some of what I have been able to find out through some research.
One of the first things I found was an article at the website of MSNBC. It was an Associated Press story.
In that story, the Associated Press states that Utah is the only state in the nation that permits guns on campus.
As states and colleges across the country review their gun policies in light of the tragedy, many in Utah are proud to have the nation’s only state law that expressly allows the carrying of concealed weapons at public colleges.
Then the article confused me.
Nationwide, 38 states — including Virginia — ban weapons at schools. Of those, 16 explicitly prohibit weapons on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In other states, each school is allowed to formulate its own policy.
Does that statement make sense to you? 38 states ban weapons at schools. Then it says that of those 38 states 16 explicitly prohibit weapons on college campuses. I’m not sure if schools refers to schools other than colleges. Well, I don’t know what that means exactly but note that it says that in the other states each school can make their own policy. So which states are included?
The Associated Press said they got their figures from the National Conference of State Legislatures, so I went there. Try as I might, I found nothing there. I think you have to be a member or something.
The search continued to the point where I soon became overwhelmed and realized why organizations such as the NRA don’t have a comprehensive list to states carry laws and which ones allow guns on college campuses, which ones don’t and which states’ campuses have a right to create their own guidelines.
It may be that Utah is the only state that outright allows for guns and concealed carry on its college campuses. Several states are proposing some kind of legislation that would permit some degree of gun possession. South Dakota is working on such a law that would permit students on the state’s college campuses to be able to have a gun.
The Brady Campaign has a list of states that have current or pending laws to permit guns at school.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus provides a map that shows which states allow for concealed carry but fails to provide a state by state detail of those allowing any degree of gun possession on college campuses.
You can find an interactive map at U.S. Handgun Laws that will allow you to follow a link to any state to retrieve handgun laws.
And to go along with that, the National Rifle Association website also has a map with links so you can click on your state and find firearms laws specific to that state.
At one time I thought that the NRA wasn’t helpful at all but soon came to realize the task being requested of me was essentially insurmountable. With that said, I hope the links I’ve provided will help you. I guess the best advice is to think about what state and which school you are considering applying to, use some of the maps provided and look up the laws governing guns on college campuses.
Tom Remington
