The Educational Impacts of Guns on Campus: A Comparison of Faculty in Georgia and Tennessee

Both Georgia and Tennessee have passed campus carry laws that allow certain individuals to carry guns on campus, yet these laws vary in notable ways. In Georgia, both students and employees are permitted to carry guns on campus, while in Tennessee, the right to carry a gun has only been extended to employees. To explore whether variations in the laws have impacted faculty behavior, this study compared the extent and predictors of educational impacts of campus carry across a sample of faculty from institutions in Georgia and Tennessee. Analyses indicated that despite differences in the laws, there were similarities in the amount of negative impacts reported by faculty in both states. While campus safety and gun socialization were found to shape gun experiences in Georgia and Tennessee, some differences in predictors were observed at the state-level. The study concludes with a discussion of implications for policy and future research.