Every time I hear the words “concealed carry” and “campus” in the same breath, a part of me wishes I had a stiff drink and some nice earplugs. I cringe when gun control advocates say that gun control laws have reduced gun-related crime.

Why? Because this debate refuses to die, and both sides like to ignore a little something called objective reality.

I have no problem with the Second Amendment or people who would like to carry guns – in fact, I think most gun control laws are ineffective or poorly implemented. And I agree wholeheartedly with N.C. State’s campus leader for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Christie Shilling in that people have every right to self-defense, from both run-of-the-mill muggers and psychopathic mass murderers.

What I have a problem with is the blatant ignorance of gun crime statistics.

The National Research Council of the National Academies conducted an extensive study on gun crime in America – Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review and devoted an entire chapter to concealed carry laws. Through all its statistical analyses, it finds that some studies support the idea that concealed carry laws reduce violent crimes and others do not. Further, the report also found that when concealed carry laws reduced major violent and property crimes, it took at least ten years to have an appreciable effect.

Is concealed carry the answer to our violent crime problems? No. Could it be part of a much more comprehensive solution? Possibly.

At this point, concealed carry advocates like Shilling would point out that responsible, 21-year-old people would be the ones with guns, and that tragedies like Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois and everyday crimes like nighttime muggings could be prevented if the students were armed. That’s a wonderful sentiment, and I would agree that responsible people are capable of taking decisive, defensive action to prevent others from slaughtering the innocent or to protect themselves.

But I’d also point out that it’s a lot more effective to try to find the root of our violent crimes and put a stop to that. Yes, a student with a concealed weapon might be able to stop a deranged person from shooting up a classroom. Yet we have forgotten that all sorts of things can go wrong with almost anyone’s mind, and incapacitating one crazy person with a gun does not stop the rest of them.

As a criminology major, I completely agree with the notion that gun control laws provide a false sense of security. But just allowing people to carry concealed weapons is not the answer – we need to address the various economic, psychological and social factors that influence violent crime, particularly on college campuses. We need to treat the mentally unbalanced before they start taking potshots from the bell tower. We should come up with programs that keep kids from just hanging out on the streets, waiting for trouble to come along.

But most of all, we need to focus on the facts. What we’re doing right now isn’t working, and I’m starting to have trouble removing my earplugs.

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