Texas gun bill aims at students, faculty and staff

Guns may soon be making an appearance inside the halls of UHCL, as well as other public colleges and universities in the state of Texas. On Feb. 12, the Senate Committee on State Affairs passed a bill that, if enacted, would allow students, faculty and staff with concealed handgun licenses to bring their firearms on campus.

The current law allows licensed concealed handgun owners to keep a concealed handgun inside motor vehicles on public university and college campuses. Senate Bill 11, guns on campus bill, would expand on the current law. Students, faculty and staff would be allowed to bring concealed handguns on campus as opposed to leaving them in their vehicles.

Senator Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) and State Representative Allen Fletcher (R-Tomball/Cypress) proposed the bill Jan. 26. Attempts to contact Fletcher went unanswered, but in a press release issued after the proposal, Fletcher explained why he supports guns on campus.

“As a retired Houston Police officer, I know that officers cannot be everywhere at all times,” Fletcher said. “Campus police cannot be in every classroom or academic building, as we have learned in the past, ‘gun-free zones’ have not been absent of crime. We must afford properly licensed adults the ability to protect themselves.”

Senate Bill 11 was heard and passed by the Texas State committee by a vote of 7-2, but not everyone agrees that handguns on campus are a good idea.

The campaign to Keep Guns off Campus urges colleges and universities across the country to work together to oppose the gun lobby’s agenda to push guns onto college campuses.

Director of Keep Guns off Campus Andy Pelosi has been working to fight against allowing guns on campus since 2008.

“It’s very early in the legislative state, and a lot of people think it’s a done deal, but I don’t think it’s a done deal,” Pelosi said. “Maybe we can’t kill the bill, but I think we can substantially alter it. I would prefer to kill the bill, but we’ll do all we can, at the very least change it so it’s not as damaging as it is in its current form.”

The debate about whether or not to allow handguns inside campus buildings has been ongoing in Texas since 2009. This is the fourth consecutive time a bill similar to Senate Bill 11 has gone before Texas Legislatures; bills proposed in 2009, 2011 and 2013 were defeated.

Other organizations across Texas fully support the guns on campus bill. The Texas Concealed Handgun Association (TCHA) serves to promote the continuation and improvement of the Texas Concealed Law, as well as promote responsible firearms safety, ownership and use in Texas communities.

Larry Arnold, legislative director of TCHA, believes that the carrying of concealed handguns on college and university campuses would work just as well as it does everywhere else it is legal.

“This is a pretty good bill, which extends to college and university campuses the same carry rules that have been successfully in place across the rest of Texas since 1996,” Arnold said. “I’m disappointed that private schools may opt out, but it will be interesting to see the results of that experiment, both in how many schools do ban carry, and what differences the two regimes make.”

Arnold is highly in favor of Senate Bill 11 and even believes handguns can become a part of several campus curricula.

“I favor allowing students who are over 21 and licensed, as well as licensed faculty, staff, and visitors, to carry on campus, just as they successfully carry elsewhere in Texas,” Arnold said. “Note that it’s campus carry, not student carry.”

William Staples, president of UHCL, does not think guns on campus are a good idea.

“The only people I want to have guns on campus is our university police,” Staples said. “One of our highest priorities, in addition to providing a good education for our students, is for our students and our faculty and staff and our visitors, is to have as safe an environment as you can, and I don’t see where this adds to it.”

There are currently 20 states that ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus; Texas is one of them. In 23 states, the decision to ban or carry a concealed weapon is left up to the college or university. This most recent bill does not give Texas colleges or universities that option.

“If that kind of bill passes and that was an option, I think most universities would not be in favor of it and they would say no, but this does not give us that option and, we would be required to allow guns on campus,” Staples said.

Senate Bill 11 is set to go to the Texas Senate in March where lawmakers will vote. If passed in the Senate, it will proceed to the Texas House of Representatives. If it passes in both the Senate and House, it will appear before Governor Greg Abbott who has the final say in whether the bill becomes a law.

If passed, the law would take effect in September.