Students’ Opinions about Concealed Firearms on University Campuses

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Students’ Opinions about Concealed Firearms on University Campuses

Category: Concealed Carry, Youth|Journal: Bureaucracy, PB&J: Politics, PB&J: Politics, Bureaucracy, and Justice (full text)|Author: A Griego, M Shoemaker, S Eaves|Year: 2015

Texas Senate Bill 11 passed and will become law in August 2016. The legislation allows individuals with concealed firearms licenses to carry their handguns on all public university campuses in Texas. Prior research indicated that most students do not support such a law (Cavanaugh, Bouffard, Wells, & Nobles, 2012; Thompson et al. 2013). In two experiments we examine if university students’ opinions can be altered by the framing of the questions on the survey and how different beliefs and knowledge about school violence and Second Amendment rights relate to feelings about Texas Senate Bill 11. Results showed that framing did have a small influence on approval of a law like Texas Senate Bill 11. Overall, more students disliked the law than those that liked the law. Males and Republicans were most likely to support the law.

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