Editor’s Note: This guest column was submitted by Molly Nolan, a sophomore pre-law student enrolled in Kent State University’s Columbus Program in State Issues. She is currently interning with the Ohio Judicial Conference. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of any KentWired staff member.

Throughout the United States, there have been 470 mass shootings and 2,500 casualties from gun violence in 2023 alone. Guns cause 81% of murders in the United States. We must eliminate open-carry laws and reform current statute language to ensure public safety.

Owning a firearm is a constitutional right, but states retain the right to regulate guns under the constitution, particularly as it relates to open carry. It’s also important to note in the 1990’s through early 2000s, when there were extensive background checks and carry conceal laws that were heavily enforced, the firearm violence rate was 29 percent lower.

Legislators understand those in favor of the open carry law. The open carry law allows citizens to obtain a firearm and carry it on their person without any form of regulation, conceal carry documents, or license. Some people rightfully question how laws against open carry will be effective. Their argument: the people violently using guns won’t follow the laws anyway. 

Nonetheless, if more statutes are implemented, law enforcement officers have great potential to detain or arrest those with potentially illegal firearms, and in many cases, stop the crime involving the gun before it happens.

Open carry is a massive threat to the public. Most of those favoring open carry are members of various hate groups. Many racially or otherwise prejudice-motivated shootings have occurred in open carry states, giving law enforcement a tremendously difficult time differentiating the gunman from those legally carrying their firearm.

The federal government must step up to action. Gun violence is the second leading cause of death in the United States. The intent of open carry laws was to ensure civilians’ “comfort,” but the outcome is far from that. 

A new bill must be introduced to make open carry illegal nationally. Once this is done, there will be a vast reduction in fatalities from gun violence and a huge breakthrough in law enforcement finding suspects more efficiently.

An increase in suspects, arrests and detainments will lead to an increased population within jails and prisons. This must be addressed as soon as possible to ensure room in detention centers and prisons. ABC News states that prisons are at 103.9 percent capacity as it stands today. Overcrowding causes significant mental and physical problems for prisoners, correctional officers and prison workers. Psychological and physical illnesses then make it a challenge to rehabilitate within the prison, which, besides a fair and reasonable sanction, is supposedly the goal of incarceration.

One significant factor of overpopulation in prisons is recidivism, the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. The Ohio Sentencing Commission reports that two-thirds of firearm offenders are repeat offenders and are arrested and incarcerated within eight years after the first offense. This is a significantly higher rate than other offenders. If firearms are strictly regulated the recidivism rate will decrease as guns would become increasingly hard to obtain and subsequently re-offend with.

In addition to gun violence, owning a firearm chemically changes one’s behavior. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study that concluded those who took their own lives were significantly more likely to do so using a gun. Those who have a firearm in their possession are five times more likely to commit suicide than those who do not have a gun at all. The CDC argues that most suicides are impulsive during a time of distress, and if they did not have access to a gun at that time, they would be alive today.

This change in behavior while owning a firearm doesn’t only apply to oneself. The CDC concludes that having a gun in the home makes a homicide three times more likely, as most homicides are not strategically planned but the result of arguments turned violent.

A change to our open carry laws can be done. Laws mandating harsh background checks and concealed carry licenses in the past have been successfully executed and proven to be the best option for public safety. Someone must step up in Congress and introduce a new bill which should be passed and implemented. 

Open carry is deadly.

Molly Nolan is a guest columnist.