College Republicans, Democrats host concealed carry discussion

The discussion on concealed carry aimed to better inform students.

By Daniel Everson

Published April 30, 2009

After the passage of a House bill that would allow concealed weapons on campus, the MU College Republicans and MU College Democrats hosted a discussion on the issue Thursday.

This discussion comes as legislation has been referred to a committee in the Missouri Senate that would lower the minimum age necessary to receive a concealed carry permit from 23 to 21 years old. An amendment added to the bill in the house by Rep. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, would allow anyone who has a concealed carry permit to bring a weapon onto any public university campus in Missouri.

MU economics professor Jeff Milyo began by discussing the limitations of studies and statistics regarding concealed carry policies.

"There aren't any appropriate studies about concealed carry in campus environments," Milyo said. "So we go down to the next best -- concealed carry in general."

Milyo said even these statistics offer no significant evidence that concealed carry laws either increase or decrease violent crime.

Milyo broke the concealed carry issue down to cost-benefit analysis. He said people generally agree well-trained, armed police officers can deter criminals and poorly trained, highly armed people could be a bad thing for both crime rates and public health.

Robert Blake, a professor of family and community medicine, said he was opposed to concealed carry and cited several studies in support of his position. Blake said violent crime statistics from the four years before and after Missouri implemented concealed carry legislation in 2004 showed the rate of violent crime remained essentially the same. But, he said the murder rate increased by 8.8 percent, and the rape rate increased by 14.5 percent.

Blake also addressed the issue's relevance to suicide. He said 10 studies have yielded a statistically significant association between having a gun in the home and increased risk of suicide.

"Studies have suggested, with a gun readily available, impulsive reactions can sometimes be incredibly tragic," Blake said.

Although the panelists, such as Blake, were free to take a position in the discussion, Mike Sykuta, a professor of agricultural economics who moderated the discussion, said the goal of the event was not to be a debate.

"In the spirit of discovery, education and promoting understanding, our panelists will speak to the evidence in their respective fields of the effects of concealed carry laws on the incidence of violence in society and on college campuses," Sykuta said.

MU College Democrats President Brian Roach said Sykuta approached the College Democrats and Republicans about holding the forum.

MU College Republicans Chairman Brett Dinkins said he wanted students to hear both sides from more informed sources.

"It's very important to come and talk about this now because a lot of students are seeing and hearing things via Facebook and things like that, and no one's getting the accurate view of everything," Dinkins said.

Roach said he thought the panel discussion went well and was proud the two organizations came together for the forum.

"We hear a lot of anecdotal evidence in campus newspapers and in organizations like the College Republicans and College Democrats, but it's nice to get a different, academic perspective on the situation," Roach said.