Testifying before Tennessee State Senate on Campus Carry

Dr. John Lott testified before the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of the Student Concealed Carry on College Campus Bill on March 7, 2023. Tennessee is a partial Campus Carry state where professors and staff can carry, though students aren’t allowed to do so.

Michael Bloomberg’s Mom’s Demand Action people sent around the claims shown below against Campus Carry to the Tennessee legislators. Their concern is that people who are 18 to 22 years of age are likely to commit crimes with guns, irresponsibly cause accidental deaths, and likely to commit suicide. But the behavior of those 18 to 22-year-olds with permits differs significantly from the average person of that age. The second through fifth pages in the video above deal directly with their claims.

Here are their claims:

On a four year average from 2018-2021 in Tennessee:

 *   1,385 people die by gun violence in Tennessee; 597 of those deaths are by homicide.
 *   42% of gun deaths are by firearm homicide, and 54% are by suicide.
 *   117 children and teens die by guns per year. 31% of these deaths are suicides and 62% are homicides
 *   Tennessee has the 8th-highest rate of gun homicide deaths in the country.
 *   From 2012 to 2021, the rate of gun deaths increased 52%—compared to 39% nationwide. There were 574 more gun deaths in 2021 than in 2012. The rate of gun suicide increased 23% and gun homicide increased 110%.
 *   This information was compiled using a database from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can explore more information