Sen. Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio is drafting a bill that allows students and teachers with concealed handgun licenses to carry their weapons on state campuses.
‘I don’t want to wake up one morning and hear on the news that some madman went on a Texas campus and picked off Texas students like they were sitting ducks,’ Wentworth said to The Houston Chronicle’s David Saleh Rauf. ‘I’m doing what I can to prevent that from happening.’
The UH Student Handbook forbids the possession of a firearm, including BB guns or ammunition on school grounds.
Constitutional law professor Laura Oren said, if passed, the bill would not necessarily mean guns could be brought to campus.
‘It is true that the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment allows individuals some measure of protection,’ Oren said. ‘It doesn’t matter that guns cannot be banned, I still have the right to say ‘Don’t come into my house or my place of business with a gun.”
Seventeen states have tried and failed to pass similar bills following the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech.
Lt. Bret Collier, public information officer for UH Department of Public Safety, said the University will decide whether to change the existing policy if Wentworth’s bill is passed.
Some students said that allowing guns on campus is not a bad idea, but English junior Julio Penaloza says she thinks the proposed legislation goes too far.
‘I would prefer that only teachers be allowed to carry firearms rather than just any student because they would be more responsible with firearms,’ Penaloza said. ‘Students carrying guns on campus would create a scary environment.’
University studies freshman Safa Alghafi thinks that having guns at the University would invite trouble.
‘Guns should not be allowed anywhere,’ Alghafi said. ‘You can’t trust people when they get angry. Some people get mad over anything.’
As a teacher, Oren said she thinks that students carrying guns would disrupt the collegial atmosphere of the classroom.
‘I personally would not feel more secure,’ Oren said. ‘I would be frightened if weapons were introduced into what should be a discussion.’
In Austin, lawmakers are divided on the issue. A study by the law enforcement committee of the Texas House recommended such a campus gun bill.
U.S. Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston has not seen the bill, but does not believe the Legislature will approve of it.
‘It’s an issue of safety,’ Coleman said to Saleh Rauf. ‘My gut instinct is most members would say it actually diminishes the safety of faculty and staff.’
Texas is a ‘shall-issue’ state, meaning that anyone who meets the criteria set forth by the Texas administrative code will receive a concealed handgun license. People seeking a license must pass a background check as well as shooting proficiency and written examinations administered by qualified instructors.
