On Feb. 13, legislation in Nevada introduced Assembly Bill 148, which would allow authorized students to carry concealed firearms on campus. The bill is nicknamed “Amanda’s Law,” after former University of Nevada at Reno (UNR) student Amanda Collins, who was raped near the police station on campus in 2007. The attacker carried a gun, but Collins was unarmed, despite having a license to carry a concealed weapon, because of UNR’s gun-free policy. Collins testified numerous times that if she were allowed to carry her gun, her attack could have been prevented. She helped found Women for Concealed Carry, a group that advocates for concealed carry as a victims’ rights issue.

Women for Concealed Carry and similar groups push for the legalization of firearms on college campuses. Such advocation led to the introduction of campus carry bills in 10 states, including Nevada. Law or university policy currently bans the carrying of concealed firearms on campus in 41 states; in the remaining nine states, guns are allowed on campus with occasional off-limits areas, such as classrooms and dormitories. Supporters of campus carry claim the rate of sexual assault would decrease if women held the right to carry a concealed weapon. In contrast, opponents of campus carry claim oftentimes college women are attacked by men they know and would not feel the temptation to use their guns. Opponents also argue it would take responsibility away from the university and police, as Annie Clark, co-founder of End Rape on Campus stated, “Telling women to carry guns, first of all puts the burden on the woman to prevent this and secondly, it’s not a solution.”

A woman walking alone at night needs protection from potential attackers, and a firearm would make the best defense, considering the attacker is likely armed or at the least of greater strength. Campus carry opponents argue allowing guns on campus would endanger students more than it would protect. However, as seen in Amanda’s Law, students need written permission from the university to carry a concealed weapon and must meet certain rules to receive the permit. Individuals who intend to commit a crime, such as Collins’ assailant, will carry a gun regardless of a campus carry law. In such cases, it is unfair a law-abiding citizen remains defenseless against a criminal. 

In spite of the benefit of concealed carry, given that in 80 to 90 percent of rape cases the victim knows the attacker, a gun may not come of use. The inability to use the gun is increasingly true in cases where the victim is date raped, drugged or intoxicated. Universities, law enforcement and society in general must do more to lower the occurrence of sexual assault. Harsher punishments for assailants, for example, create a greater sense of safety and security. Fewer than five percent of college women report attempted or completed rape, likely due to the lack of security provided. The statistics do not even cover the men who are assaulted, as they are even less likely to report an assault because of the stigmas society places on the subject. Ideally, the community should talk seriously about sexual assault and discontinue the glorification of it in the media. Children should learn not to tolerate assault and to act as advocates for the victims rather than the assailants.