The details surrounding the abhorrent assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University are still emerging, but one thing is already clear: In a state with weak gun laws and legalized open carry, had the shooter walked to Kirk’s scheduled event with a rifle slung over his shoulder, he probably wouldn’t have broken any laws. In fact, Utah officials have recently clarified that students as young as 18 can openly carry guns on college campuses (though campus police appeared unaware campus open carry was legal), and the state also allows concealed weapons on Utah’s campuses.
Open carry laws make it particularly hard to secure public events.
There are profound challenges to keeping public gatherings safe in a nation riddled by weak gun laws, especially when it comes to carrying a firearm. Open carry laws make it particularly hard to secure public events because the visible presence of firearms creates a dangerous ambiguity. Law enforcement can’t easily distinguish between a person legally carrying a weapon and someone preparing to commit violence. This ambiguity slows down response times, heightens the risk of mistakes and can turn routine security situations into potential crises. It unequivocally makes it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs, and it puts them at greater risk of harm.
At the same time, visible guns at gatherings can intimidate participants, escalate tensions and even deter people from attending altogether, undermining the safety and openness of community spaces — especially when open carry can be, and has been, used by extremist groups as a tool to intimidate others at protests or public gatherings. The freedom to assemble should not be exercised under threat of gun violence.
Utah is not alone. Forty-one states allow permitless open carry, and nearly 30 allow permitless concealed carry. This trajectory leads to a society where firearms could be everywhere — where people at concerts, rallies and town halls carry guns — and where neither officers nor ordinary citizens can tell the difference between a law-abiding gun owner and the next shooter.
More guns in more places do not make us safer. If they did, America would be the safest nation in the world. Instead, as Everytown for Gun Safety reported three years ago, the United States has more than 25 times the gun homicide rate of peer nations. The CDC reported that almost 47,000 people died of gun-related injuries in the U.S. in 2023. We’ve also found that 97,000 people in the U.S. are wounded by guns every year, and data from the CDC show us that guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens.
Only one group profits from the fear sparked by more firearms in public spaces: the gun industry. The gun lobby thrives on fear because fear drives gun sales. In fact, early reports indicated that gun stock prices surged following Kirk’s assassination.
The freedom to assemble should not be exercised under threat of gun violence.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun lobby’s trade association, has spent years pushing to loosen public carry restrictions. But the group’s own market research, uncovered by The Trace and Rolling Stone, shows that most Americans — including conservatives and gun owners — actually feel less safe when more people are carrying guns in public. Of course, the industry has a singular solution for this fear: Just buy a gun. The NSSF’s statement Thursday described Kirk as a Second Amendment advocate and said, “We also commit ourselves to advancing the principles which Kirk held dear.” It is no wonder then that the industry continues to push legislation like the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would mandate every state to accept the weakest carry standards in the nation.
There is much we don’t know about the shooter, including if he was politically motivated. But we do know Kirk, who held politically divisive positions and was engaged in a political debate when he was shot. Political violence is made more likely by weak gun laws. Research shows states with the weakest gun laws have a rate of gun deaths per capita that is two and a half times that of the state with the strongest gun laws — and Utah ranks 36th on Everytown’s Gun Law Ranking system, due to its lack of every gun violence prevention law that Everytown considers foundational. What’s more, a recent JAMA Pediatrics study found the rates of gun deaths of children rose in states that loosened gun laws since 2010.
The basis of any free society is the right to live without fear of violence, including rampant gun violence. There can be no fully free speech when the price of disagreement is a bullet. If our leaders want to protect freedom, they must first protect the safety of the people they serve by taking comprehensive action on gun safety.
