Allowing weapons into public Texas colleges has campuses divided

Allowing weapons into public Texas colleges has campuses divided

By Evan McCabe

emm168@txstate.edu

Texas – In August 2016 a controversial bill passed by the Texas Senate allowed License To Carry holders to carry concealed hand guns onto college campuses giving some peace of mind, but leaving others in fear over the possibility of violent situations that might arise from the use of the weapons on their campus.

Almost two years later, many approve of the campus carry law for the protection it provides, while others still strongly oppose the legislation due to personal experiences or from a misunderstanding of who this law applies to.

Jacob Rosen

 Jacob Rosen, 24, grew up in South Chicago, Illinois, an area known for its gun violence. Hyde Park, the area of Chicago that Rosen grew up in, has been given the title murder capital of the USA. Rosen said that having a gun in the event of a shooting does not guarantee the person will effectively be able to use it.

“I once walked into an active robbery,” said Rosen. “The guy pointed a gun at me and told me to leave.” “I think if I had a gun, would I have shot him?” “I don’t think so.” “You don’t know what to do in those moments.” “We both could have ended up dead.”

Marissa Garcia

Many people worry that this law will allow colleges across Texas to become the next venue for a mass shooting. Marissa Garcia, 42, from Kingsville, Texas feels that the only way to prevent a shooting on campus is to have a harsher screening process.

“They would have to go through an intensive background check and training,” said Garcia. “It shouldn’t be as easy as it is for people to get a license.”

Hannah Quach, 21, feels that campus carry brings with it a sense of safety for the students at Texas State University.

“If a situation did arise that someone needed to use their firearm,” said Quach. “I would feel safer knowing that someone was there who was armed and properly trained.”

Initially, Roxana Torres, 22 was scared because she did not know much about the law. Torres thought that the law would allow anyone to conceal and carry a gun onto campus.

“I think the fact that you have to be over 21 or a veteran made it easier to deal with because most students in college are 18, 19, 20,” said Torres. “But that wasn't my first initial thought, at first it was scary to think about.”

Campus carry allows a student to conceal their weapon while on campus. Joseph Barmore, veteran and Computer Information Systems major, knows several people that concealed carry on campus and is not bothered by campus carry.

“It doesn’t bother me at all because it’s not visible to me,” said Barmore.

Hunter Glazener

Hunter Glazener Accounting Major at Texas Lutheran University possesses a License To Carry and would gladly carry a fire arm, legally, onto his campus if it were allowed. The Campus Carry law only affects public colleges in the state. Texas Lutheran University is a private institution.

“I am in favor of it [campus carry],” said Glazener. “Because in the event of a shooter there will be armed shooters around that can shoot him before he shoots, and potentially kills, a lot of people.”