Texas Poised to Pass Bill Allowing Guns on Campus
Texas poised to pass bill allowing guns on campus http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/headlines/20110220-texas-poised-to-pass-bill-allowing-guns-on-campus.ece Just about anyone who currently attends a college or university in the state of Texas knows about the bill co-signed by more than half the members of the Texas House of Representatives to allow students and faculty at universities to carry concealed weapons.
“More than half the members of the Texas House have signed on as co-authors of a measure directing universities to allow concealed handguns.” As stated by The Dallas Morning News. Texas governor Rick Perry has even said he was in favor of the bill.
Supporters of the legislation argue that the bill is simply for self-defense, referring to the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois shootings as examples of scenarios where the best defense against an armed gunman would have been students who can shoot back.
Other states that have proposed similar bills have come under strong opposition, saying there is no scenario in which concealed weapons on campuses will do more than create a more dangerous environment for everyone else. Even the University of Texas president William Powers has stated his opposition on the matter.
Bills to bring guns on campus have been rejected by 23 states since 2007. A poll that surveyed adult Texans showed that 70 percent opposed allowing guns on campus. Despite the numbers, many gun control activists still believe it will be hard to stop the current bill from passing later this year.
This article was written on February 20th, 2011. Since then, the Senate Criminal Justice committee of Texas had approved the bill with a 4-2 vote. The next step to passing the bill is approval by the full Senate, which already approved a similar bill back in 2009.
As a student, the issue of having anyone on campus carrying a concealed weapon concerns me just as it would anyone else. There are many pros and cons about
“More than half the members of the Texas House have signed on as co-authors of a measure directing universities to allow concealed handguns.” As stated by The Dallas Morning News. Texas governor Rick Perry has even said he was in favor of the bill.
Supporters of the legislation argue that the bill is simply for self-defense, referring to the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois shootings as examples of scenarios where the best defense against an armed gunman would have been students who can shoot back.
Other states that have proposed similar bills have come under strong opposition, saying there is no scenario in which concealed weapons on campuses will do more than create a more dangerous environment for everyone else. Even the University of Texas president William Powers has stated his opposition on the matter.
Bills to bring guns on campus have been rejected by 23 states since 2007. A poll that surveyed adult Texans showed that 70 percent opposed allowing guns on campus. Despite the numbers, many gun control activists still believe it will be hard to stop the current bill from passing later this year.
This article was written on February 20th, 2011. Since then, the Senate Criminal Justice committee of Texas had approved the bill with a 4-2 vote. The next step to passing the bill is approval by the full Senate, which already approved a similar bill back in 2009.
As a student, the issue of having anyone on campus carrying a concealed weapon concerns me just as it would anyone else. There are many pros and cons about