One of the most debated and talked about issues going on today concerns gun control. There are many different aspects being brought up with concern to gun control. One of the biggest this past year especially here in Texas is the issue of allow-ing conceal carry on college campuses. College campuses are usually gun free zones, but with so many shootings happening on campuses some want to be allowed to carry. A lot of people are for infringing upon a person’s constitutional right to life and
The difference on perspectives has been a major issue especially after President Obama’s constant effort to pass more gun control laws. In contrast, the presumably and deeply Republican state of Texas, which has very few restrictions on guns, has just passed a law that makes concealed carrying on college campuses legal. Such law has been a controversy and had divided reactions from Texans all around the state. The problem that is tried to solve with this bill is to prevent more mass shootings from happening in the facilities of higher education institutions. It is very important to
In 2007 an armed student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech, making it one of the deadliest gun massacres in U.S history. As a result, a group known as Students for Concealed Carry on Campus began a movement to legalize campus carry for colleges in the U.S. Lawmakers then put in place laws that would allow students and faculty to carry weapons to better defend themselves (The Secret History of the Campus Carry Movement). As of 2016 Texas became the ninth state to allow concealed carry on public universities for holders of gun permits. Nevertheless, the debate over whether to allow concealed weapons in schools remains a hot topic in our political society. Although the different viewpoints of the new law are evident, the major similarity is the safety of the student body. There exists’ two sides for concealed weapons on college campuses in the state of Texas. The side that believes students are safer by carrying a concealed weapon, and the side that believes the contrary and says that weapons should not be allowed on school premises. Regulations vary from state to state; 18 states have banned concealed weapons on college campuses and 23 states allow each school to determine its own policies (Campus Carry). Even after the Virginia shooting, the movement did not echo with all Americans.
The right to bear arms is a very important right to some Americans. This right gives Americans the right to protect themselves if they need to at any time. While some people agree that this is a right everyone deserves, it can create controversy in some circumstances. One of these places where open carry causes controversy is in the school system. With news about gun violence at various school locations throughout the country, it is only natural for people to feel uncomfortable about the situation. Especially if the open carry law goes into effect on the anniversary of a school shooting. Texas’ new campus carry law went into effect fifty years after the shooting at the University of Texas at Austin. Texas’ new campus carry law will cause more harm than good because it can make some people uncomfortable due to the fear of a domestic shooter and the fact that this law goes into effect at universities after the fiftieth anniversary of the shooting at the University of Texas at Austin.
Due to the recent upheaval of violent crimes on campus, many pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those for this may claim that their rights have been violated because many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on campus. It is not the right to carry a gun which is in debate here, but rather it is whether or not guns should be allowed on a college campus. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns, and being in the south, I am by far no stranger to seeing a gun from time-to-time, but it is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus. There are already too many guns available to the public, and allowing them on an educational facility would greatly increase the likelihood of injury or death. Americans, as previously mentioned, have the right to bear arms, and this should be held sacred, and not infringed, taken away, or limited. However, stricter firearm control should be implemented for those who chose to carry a concealed weapon, and gun control should be done by having stricter certification processes before a firearm or gun permit is issued, intensive psychological evaluation for the person or persons applying for a gun permit or a gun,and greater educational requirements for gun owners and firearm safety.
August 1 marks the day which the state’s new Campus Carry law was enacted. This law which comply with Senate Bill 11, has authorized a licensed holder to carry concealed handgun at University of Texas at Austin and other public universities in Texas. The implementation of this law have risen controversy between the stakeholders which are the faculty members, students, parents, staffers and alumni. In regard to this, President Fenves has assigned a Campus Carry Working Group to guide the implementation of Senate Bill 11 which complies the law and at the same time ensuring the safety of the campus.
About 4,400 colleges and universities in the United States forbid the carrying of guns on their campuses (“Colleges”). With more and more shootings on campuses, especially with the tragedy at Virginia Tech in 2006, the states are starting to rethink their position on whether guns should be allowed on campuses; especially in Texas, where Texans are known for their guns. Even with a state like that, however, the questions still remain: Will allowing students with guns make campuses a safer environment? Will it make students feel safer? As most controversial issues goes, there are two sides to the debate.
The decision for college and university campuses to allow their students to carry concealed weapons on campus is a risky debate that one should disagree with. A numerous amount of unfortunate events that have a chance of happening would result as a train thought if the decision was made. Various public schools below college level have been publicized throughout the years to have been involved with shootings, threats, or suicide with arms that were sneaked onto campus discretely, or exposed through a rageful manner fired at random innocent individuals. College level, there is already a majority of students that are above the age of eighteen or twenty-one, both ages having the legal privilege to purchase a weapon. This would increase a caution
brewing battle between school administrations and leading pro-carry groups such as the National Rifle Association and
More and more states are pushing for campus carry and universities and colleges no longer be a gun free zone. There will always be debates whether guns on campus are good or bad. Groups such as Moms Demand Action are criticizing legislatures who pass any gun bills, while Students for Concealed Carry are gun advocates. Despite the fact that not everyone will agree on the topic of guns on campus, we could soon possibly see a majority of public universities and colleges allowing
With backpacks in tow and pencils in hand, college students crisscross campus with stress of acing the test, hardly thinking about their safety. This was the case on a clear Tuesday at the University of Texas on September 28th, 2010. Students fled from a mask gunman carrying an AK-47 and shooting randomly around campus. Nineteen-year-old Colton Tooley, wearing a black mask, eventually killed himself in the library. Remarkably, no one else was injured or killed. (MSNBC) This was not the case in 1966 when 16 people where killed with 32 injured by a gunman in the UT clock tower. The debate still wages on to allow concealed guns to be carried on college campus in Texas despite a recent bill that failed to pass. The US Constitutional Second
HB 910, better known as the Open-Carry Bill is a bill that was passed on May 29, 2015 and signed into law by Governor Jim Abbott after it cleared both chambers of the Legislature. The Open-Carry Bill allows licensed holders to carry concealed handguns on public college campuses. Abbott claims that the bill will not only strengthen Texans second amendment rights, it will secure them (The Associated Press, 2015). However, the bill has raised questions regarding the safety of students and faculty on college campuses. As a team, we initiated our research by questioning the results of how the bill will affect college campuses across Texas. The objective of our research is to gather qualitative and quantitative data that defines
Republican Senator Brian Birdwell introduced the Texas Senate Bill 11, also known as the Campus Carry Bill, to the House and Senate on January 26, 2015. With Texas being a highly conservative state, supporters of this bill were largely consisted of Republicans and gun-rights activists. Many supporters, especially pro-gun individuals, argued the second amendment would be violated by not allowing those with a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a concealed gun on campus. They also believed guns can be utilized as a form of self-defense to further support the passage of this bill.
On August 1, 2016, senate bill 11 (S.B. 11) was put into effect, which allows for the carrying of concealed handguns on Texas public institution campuses by license to carry a handgun (LTC) holders (Campus Carry UTSA). There has been lots of controversy over this new law, especially since there were 23 shootings on college campuses in 2015 alone. In this essay, I plan to explain the stipulations of this new law and why it is controversial.
In this paper, I will discuss the recent law that allows for conceal handgun license holders to carry a concealed weapon on college campuses in Texas. Although “no permit is necessary for the purchase of rifles, shotguns, ammunition, or any firearm component in the state…the only qualifications pertinent to the purchase of firearms…is that the purchaser must be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the state,” there are rules as to who can carry a concealed handgun (gun.laws). “A person must apply for a license with the Department of Public Safety and meet certain requirements: the completed materials and applications, two passport color photographs, [be] at least 21 years of age, [be a] resident of the state of Texas, completion of