It would be rash to credit a 13 percent annual drop in crime at the University of Kansas to six months of legalized campus carry, but the new law certainly did not cause an increase in crime or a spike in weapons violations. In 2017, 671 criminal offenses were reported to KU police compared to 770 in 2016.
Thefts saw the biggest drop from the preceding year. There were 56 in 2017, down from 213 in 2016. There were only two auto thefts in 2017, down from six the year before. Again, it would be rash to suggest that would-be thieves feared an armed defense, but it is entirely reasonable to suggest that the law did not empower thieves to step up their game.
It would be equally rash to tell virtue-signaling KU prof Kevin Wilmott that he no longer needs to wear a bullet-proof vest, but it is not too early to tell Wilmott that he rendered himself needlessly uncomfortable for however many days he has worn the vest since campus carry became law.
Wilmott made a national splash in August 2017 when he showily appeared on campus in his bullet proof vest. “Try to forget that I’m wearing a vest,” Wilmott said at the time to his imagined critics, “and I’ll try to forget that you could be packing a .44 magnum.”
According to the KU Office of Public Safety, there were zero weapons violations in 2017. Despite a near meltdown on campus by those like Wilmott indifferent or hostile to the Second Amendment, eight months have passed without incident since the law went into effect on July 1.
In this regard, 2017 was something of an anomaly. There were 14 weapons violations on campus in the year between 2008 and 2016.
During his 15 minutes of fame, Willmott worried that having guns “welcomed” on campus could “obstruct the free flow of ideas in classrooms when controversial topics like race and religion are discussed.” What most certainly did obstruct the free flow of ideas was having the professor wear his biases on his chest.
