Licensed carriers of concealed handguns may soon secure the ability to protect themselves and others on campus.
The Texas legislative session convenes Jan. 13 with the prospect of legalizing concealed handguns on campus. Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) and Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) will sponsor bills that would legalize concealed carry on universities.
If passed, UTD and every other college campus in Texas will be a safer place where concealed handgun license holders can defend themselves and perhaps deter crime.
A study published in the "Journal of Legal Studies" in 1997 by John Lott and David Mustard found when statewide concealed handgun laws went into effect, murders, rapes and aggravated assaults decreased by an average of 8.5, 5 and 7 percent, respectively.
A 1982 study by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice found that,39 percent of felons did not commit crimes because they feared their potential victims were armed. Another 34 percent were "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim."
Bills were introduced in Georgia and Louisiana in 2008 to allow concealed handguns by licensed individuals on state campuses. These bills, HB 915 and HB 199, failed to pass.
Utah is currently the only state with concealed carry allowed on campus. Colorado State University and a community college in Virginia permit concealed carry as well, and none of these campuses has had a gun-related incident.
Texas stands a good chance of passing a bill that would revoke the prohibition against concealed handguns on university campuses.
The Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA) ranks Congressmen based on their answers to a questionnaire and their voting record regarding gun rights. More than two-thirds of Texas State Representatives are rated A or A+ by the TSRA, according to W. Scott Lewis, adviser and former national media coordinator of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC).
On Jan. 4, newly elected House speaker Joe Straus, a moderate Republican, released a list of house members who pledged to vote for him. The list included 72 Democrats and 16 Republicans, according to The Dallas Morning News.
"I want the members (of the House) to know that I'm going to protect them to do what their districts want them to do on issues," Straus said during a news conference in Austin.
Straus's position is promising because it allows the representatives to function according to their constituents' will. If Straus keeps to his word and the representatives vote consistently with their TSRA rating, then the concealed carry bill should pass in the House.
Passing the bill would be a real victory for constitutional rights. We the people have the right to bear arms, according to the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
Students for Gun Free Schools, the main student-run opposition group to the movement, has a following on Facebook of 12,000 members and 20 campus leaders. The five main reasons they list for opposing concealed handguns on campus run counter to the facts.
The group's No. 1 reason listed on its Website is very easily disproved. They claim concealed handguns would detract from a healthy learning environment.
This is simply not true. A concealed handgun is, by definition, not visible. Those who carry in public can face legal consequences if they show their weapon.
On school property, it is a third degree felony to display a weapon in a manner intended to alarm. It is a Class A misdemeanor for a concealed handgun license holder to reveal that he or she is armed.
Licensed carriers of concealed handguns understand the law and the responsibility it entails. They take a 10-15 hour course that they must pass to earn a permit.
Concealed handgun owners are indistinguishable in the mall or grocery store. Never, unless there was an eminent threat of grave bodily harm or death, would someone with a concealed handgun be conspicuous in the classroom
The SCCC is a student-run national organization that lobbies for the right to concealed carry on campus with 35,000 members and campus leaders at 34 colleges in Texas. Members will be down in Austin testifying at hearings before the legislature to persuade Congresspeople.
Students and faculty at UTD should take interest in the legalization of concealed carry on campus and get involved now. This issue directly affects all of us and now is the time to address our right to protection on campus and potential to deter crime this legislative session.
Concealed carry license holders are law-abiding citizens, but the current laws draw an invisible, gun-prohibiting barrier around college campuses. Criminals don't respect that boundary.
Not only does current law deprive us of our right to bear arms, but also unnecessarily strips us of protection.
At the founding of the United States, the U.S. Constitution wasn't ratified until the people were promised a Bill of Rights. Similarly, we need to recognize the importance of these rights, and fight for them.
For additional information about concealed carry, go to concealedcampus.org or to concealedcampus.org/write.htm for help writing to your representative.
Alex Ransom is also a student leader for the UTD chapter of SCCC.
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