Mark Guillory

The Signal Staff

At Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007, a gunman went on a killing spree leaving 32 students and faculty members dead. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, also a student at Virginia Tech, killed himself afterward.

Less than a year later, Steven Kazmierczak opened fire on a geology class at Northern Illinois University killing five students. Kazmierczak, like Cho, was a student at the university where he gunned down his fellow students; he also committed suicide after his tirade.

These two tragedies sent shock waves throughout the country and people began to question what could be done to keep college campuses safe.

In the wake of the shooting, a particular bill has picked  up steam in Texas House Bill 1893. The bill will allow a concealed handgun license holder to “carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder’s person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state.”

An institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state may adopt any rule, regulation, or other provision prohibiting license holders from carrying handguns on the campus of the institution. Continue Reading

Dear Editor:

We would like to address The Signal and the student body at large concerning the issue of concealed handguns on campus.  This important piece of Texas legislation is currently pending before the public safety committee in the House. The Senate also has the bill appropriated in committee.  While a majority of state representatives have expressed an opinion in favor of this bill, it has not yet come to a vote on the floor of either body. Continue Reading

Jenna Simsen and Lindsay Humphrey

The Signal Staff

You gather your things for any normal school day. You grab your bag, your books, your laptop and…your gun? Well – say you don’t bring your gun, but your classmate does. Sitting in class, you happen to look over at a fellow student pulling out a notebook and spot a glimpse of the little leather case in the bag. It is concealed, but you know exactly what it is. Had you not looked over at that exact moment, would you have felt as comfortable as if you hadn’t?  If the House Bill 1893 passes, this hypothetical scenario could become a reality.

The Texas legislator who introduced the bill claims that lifting the ban on concealed handguns in university classrooms would enable students to protect themselves in life-threatening situations like the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. While that’s acceptable in theory, in practice, lifting the ban does not ensure safety on college campuses.

The shooter at Virginia Tech managed to obtain a concealed handgun license, and the two semi-automatic pistols he used were purchased legally and legitimately, even though Virginia courts prior to the handgun purchase deemed him “mentally unsound.” The fact is, determined individuals like the VT shooter will always fall through the cracks, no matter how thorough the background checks and screenings, in order to accomplish what he or she sets out to do. But does that mean everyone else needs to be armed in the off chance that they will encounter such an individual on a college campus?

Let’s say for argument sake, the bill passes and guns are allowed in classrooms. What are the implications of that? Continue Reading

Tine Di Vora

The Signal Staff

Texas legislation may soon pass a bill that would allow licensed, concealed handgun carriers to bring their guns onto college and university campuses.

Some people may see this as a mistake that would allow guns to overrun campus grounds, that just about everyone would be ‘trigger happy.’ That is simply not true. Currently, the state allows students to carry a concealed weapon in their vehicle, but are prohibited from carrying it onto school grounds. If passed, the new bill would change the state law  to allow licensed holders to carry concealed weapons from their vehicle onto campus.

Students who are licensed already carry their concealed handguns to the grocery store, movies, parks and other public places that have no restrictions on concealed weapons. This piece of legislation is coming about in light of the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. In both cases, armed men walked into a classroom of unsuspecting, unarmed students and began shooting at will. More than 30 students/faculty were killed at Virginia Tech and six were killed at NIU. This bill is written to prevent similar situations from happening at Texas colleges and universities by allowing students the right to bring their handguns to class.

Many worry that if this bill passes all students will be carrying handguns to class, and this is not true. Texas has strict regulations on who can and cannot carry concealed weapons. First, before a person can apply, they have to be 21 years old. That means that most freshmen, sophomore and junior level students cannot apply. Teachers, staff and senior level students would be able to apply for the license. Then the individual must pass a complete background check, which means no criminal record, and no history of mental illness. A person who has defaulted on student or government loans is also ineligible to apply.

If the person passes all the requirements to apply, then they have to attend a class in which both a written and shooting test must be passed, be finger printed, and pay a fee. The normal wait time is 60-180 days depending on if there are any problems but with an increase in the number of people applying for a license it could be even longer. Continue Reading