Students for Concealed Carry, formerly Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, is an

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

in the United States that promotes "

campus carry In the United States, campus carry refers to the possession of firearms on college or university campuses. Each state has its own discretion on laws concerning campus carry. As of 2019, 16 states ban the carrying of a concealed weapon on a coll ...

"—a policy of allowing holders of

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pre ...

permits to carry concealed handguns on college campuses.

Background

As of 2019, 16 states ban the carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus; 23 states allow individual colleges and universities to make decisions on whether to prohibit or permit the carrying of a concealed weapon on their campuses; 10 states (either because of state legislation of judicial decision) permit the carrying of concealed weapons on public post-secondary college campuses; and one state (

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

) has a specific state law requiring all public colleges and universities to allow the carrying of concealed weapons on their property.

History and activities

The group was formed in 2007, the day after the

Virginia Tech massacre The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree killer, spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Tech, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, Blacks ...

. The group has promoted efforts to overturn campus gun bans in several states.Richard Pérez-Peña & Susan Saulny
Colleges Become Major Front in Fight Over Carrying Guns
''New York Times'' (February 16, 2013). It has held "empty holster protests" in which students supporting the group carry empty holsters to protest bans on the carrying of concealed firearms on college campuses. The group has also held annual national conference in Washington, D.C., television on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

. In 2008, SCC (represented by

Mountain States Legal Foundation Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is an American conservative free market public interest law firm based in Lakewood, Colorado. Its lawyers argue cases on property rights and federal land management in the American West, as well as gun right ...

) sued the

University of Colorado System The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and its officials over the

university system A university system is a set of multiple affiliated universities and colleges that are usually geographically distributed. Typically, all member universities in a university system share a common component among all of their various names. Usually, ...

's ban on "the possession of firearms or other dangerous or illegal weapons on or within" University of Colorado property. In 2012, the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Powers and duties Appellate jurisdiction Discretionary appeals The Court p ...

ruled in favor of SCC, holding that the Colorado Concealed Carry Act prohibited the Board of Regents from regulating the possession of concealed handguns on campus.

Support and opposition

The group's efforts to expand campus carry are supported by other gun-rights groups, and are opposed by gun-control groups such as Students for Gun-Free Schools, and the

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...

, as well as some students, faculty, staff, and administrators.Adam Nagourney & Julie Turkewitz
As Campus Fears Rise, So Do Efforts to Enact School Gun Laws
''New York Times'' (October 20, 2015).

References

External links

Students for Concealed Carry website
{{USgunorgs United States firearms law Gun rights advocacy groups in the United States Student political organizations in the United States Internet-based activism

Background

History and activities

Support and opposition

See also

References

External links