acpa position on Guns on Campus

Gun violence in places of education has occurred for decades and continues to lead to controversial conversation concerning a firearms place on college campuses.  As an association representing students, faculty, staff, and administrators of college campuses across the world, ACPA College Student Educators-International values the human dignity and right to safety of our members.

According to Campus Safety, 12 states in the U.S. have allowed concealed carry of permitted guns on college campuses, while 22 states leave the decision up to individual colleges. 16 states have expressly banned concealed carry on college campuses. Right to Carry laws have been shown to lead to adverse effects, even increasing gun violence in the states passing these policies.

At ACPA College Student Educators-International, we believe that university administrators, faculty, staff, students and leadership in the field of higher education are justified in their opposition to guns on campus, and that their voices should be heard and respected by state and federal government.

We express our ardent opposition to any legislation that increases the potential for violence on college campuses, and believe that institutions of higher education should be safe and gun-free.

The former Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, announced in 2018 that the Federal Commission on School Safety created under the former Trump administration will not examine the role of guns in school violence, which we believe to be a disregard for one of the most pressing campus conversations occurring in the U.S. today.  We encourage universities and colleges across the world to continue to have these conversations, and promote education and safety on campus.

Additional resources on this issue:

• National Conference of State Legislatures: Guns on Campus Overview  
• Giffords Law Center: Guns in Schools
• The Association for Student Conduct Administration: Assessing Threats on Campus, A Toolkit for Student Conduct Professionals