HOUSTON (Web Desk) – Under a new bill passed over the weekend by the Republican-dominated Legislature, students and faculty members at public and private universities in Texas could be allowed to carry concealed handguns into classrooms, dormitories and other buildings.
While the measure is being hailed as a victory by gun rights advocates, it is strongly criticised by many students and professors as irresponsible and unnecessary.
The so-called campus-carry bill is expected to be signed into law by the Republican governor, Greg Abbott. It would take effect in August 2016 at universities and August 2017 at community colleges, the New York Times reported.
Supporters say it will make college campuses safer by not preventing licensed gun owners from defending themselves and possibly saving lives should a mass shooting occur, such as the one that unfolded at Virginia Tech University in 2007.
Opponents say the notion that armed students would make a campus safer is an illusion that will have a chilling effect on campus life.
Professors said they worry about inviting a student into their offices to talk about a failing grade if they think that student is armed. And Democratic lawmakers and some university leaders worry about increased security costs and the bill’s effect on recruiting potential teachers and students from other states.
“The perception in academia will be that Texas is a free-fire zone with yokels in the classrooms packing heat,” said Lynn W. Tatum, a professor at Baylor University in Waco and the former president of the Texas conference of the American Association of University Professors.
Texas will be one of eight states to allow the carrying of concealed weapons on public college campuses, joining Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Nineteen others ban concealed weapons on campus, including California, Florida and New York, and 23 others, including Alabama and Arizona, leave the decision to the colleges or state board of regents.
The bill that passed in Texas was something of a compromise that allows private universities to opt out and public ones to designate parts of their campuses as gun-free zones. But coming at a time when legislatures have allowed guns at places from bars to houses of worship, it reflects the seemingly limitless legislative clout of gun interests, particularly in Republican-dominated states.
One of the most prominent opponents of the campus-carry bill was an unlikely figure – a former member of the Navy SEALs. Admiral William H McRaven, the former commander of United States Special Operations forces who directed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, is now the chancellor of the 15-campus University of Texas System.
“I’m a guy that loves my guns,” Admiral McRaven said. “I have all sorts of guns. I just don’t think bringing guns on campus is going to make us any safer. If you’ve ever been shot at, which I have, then you have an appreciation for what a gun can do.”
In addition to the campus-carry bill, Republican lawmakers also approved an open-carry bill, which gives those licensed to have a concealed weapon the option of carrying it openly in a holster, although open carry will not be allowed on a college campus. The debate over both bills made gun rights a dominant issue of the legislative session.
