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Key Takeaways
- Wisconsin's newly introduced bill aims to ban concealed carry on state university campuses, expanding existing gun-free school zone protections to higher education institutions.
- Proponents, including Sen. Kelda Roys, argue the bill enhances student safety by reducing fear of gun violence, while opponents, like John Lott, contend it could make campuses more attractive targets for mass shooters.
- The bill is currently under review by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
Wisconsin legislators recently introduced a bill that would prohibit concealed carry on state university campuses, prompting debate over the effectiveness of gun-free zones.
The state currently bans guns on campus with the exception of law enforcement and those with a “license to carry a concealed weapon.”
Sen. Kelda Roys, a co-signer of the bill, announced the legislation, saying, “Nobody should be living with the fear of gun violence, but certainly not young people on college campuses across the state,” according to Police 1.
“In terms of our drafting, it’s quite simple: Wisconsin already has gun-free school zones across the state, and this bill simply applies those protections to college campuses,” she said.
However, experts are raising concerns that the bill may be counterproductive.
“Mass public shooters explicitly target places where they know their victims are not able to protect themselves,” John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, told The College Fix.
“These places actually serve as magnets for attacks,” he said.
The Crime Prevention Research Center found that 92 percent of mass public shootings occur in gun-free zones, where civilians cannot legally carry firearms.
Similarly, Second Amendment Foundation Director Kostas Moros told The College Fix that disallowing concealed carry on campuses will not decrease gun violence.
“People who have concealed permits are the most law-abiding people in the country,” Moros said. “If somebody is going into a college or anywhere with an intent to kill people, they’re not going to stop because there’s a permit requirement or guns are banned.”
“They don’t care if guns are banned,” he told The Fix. “They’re there to do murders.”
When asked if the bill violates the Second Amendment, Moros said there is a “legal difference of opinion” about whether the right to carry is also protected on school grounds. However, the Supreme Court clarified that gun restrictions are permissible in schools in District of Columbia v. Heller.
Despite this, he believes that concealed carry should be allowed on campus when there’s a lack of security presence.
“The general right to carry applies to every law-abiding citizen everywhere where there’s not security, especially on a college campus where anybody can walk in from the public” Moros said.
On the other hand, when asked if the bill would reduce gun violence, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort spokesperson Heidi Johnson said “yes.”
“AB 427 keeps firearms off college grounds, with exceptions for trained law enforcement and a few other narrowly defined situations, which reduces the risk of accidents, suicides, and conflicts and helps make campuses safer for students and staff,” she said.
“This is backed up by research that has shown that more guns on campuses make those campuses more prone to gun violence,” she said.
WAVE Associate Executive Director Nick Matuszewski told The College Fix that research shows “more guns on campuses make those campuses more prone to gun violence.”
“By creating a consistent, statewide standard, the bill ensures that campuses remain spaces for learning and growth, not fear, while law enforcement remains responsible for security,” he said.
The bill was referred to the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee with a hearing yet to be scheduled. Ten other states currently allow students to carry concealed while on campus, with 21 states leaving it up to universities to decide, according to Campus Safety.
