College Students’ Perceptions of Campus Safety Before and After Concealed Carry

ABSTRACT We assessed college students’ perceptions of safety related to concealed carry of firearms on a university campus. Explicit assessments were collected before passage, before implementation, and after implementation of the law; implicit assessments were collected before and after implementation. For comparison, we included college students from a campus in another state that did not contemplate such legislation. Students in the state with the concealed carry law showed a significant increase in the perceived likelihood of weapon violence following its passage but not following implementation on campus one year later. No differences in safety over time were noted using the implicit measure. Passage of a concealed carry law can significantly increase perceived likelihood of weapon violence on a university campus, whereas actual implementation may not.