Texas Lawmakers Expand Right to Carry Guns on College Campuses

[Morphine Prince 109,699]

Gun owners will next year be able to legally carry handguns in dorms, classrooms and buildings in public universities in Texas under a bill expected to be signed by the governor within several days.

The measure was passed by the state’s legislature late Sunday night and will now go to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he would sign it.

The measure is likely to be held up as a win by guns-on-campus supporters who otherwise saw their national effort to expand such rights largely fizzle this legislative season. The bill wouldn’t take effect until August of next year for four year colleges. For junior colleges, the bill takes effect in 2017.

Of the 15 states to introduce guns-on-campus bills this year, Texas is so far the only one to have moved a measure to the governor’s desk. The legislative term in Nevada, where legislators are attempting to mount an 11th-hour effort to pass a campus-carry bill, ends on Tuesday.

Advocates of looser laws concerning guns on college campuses say that students trained with a gun would be better positioned to fend off a host of potential crimes, from s-xual assaults to a Virginia Tech-style mass shooting.

The efforts in Texas and elsewhere have faced stiff resistance from university leaders, who have cited dangers associated with expanded campus carry laws, as well as the stepped up costs required to enhance campus security.

The Texas bill that passed late Sunday removed a blanket prohibition for guns on campus, and reduces the penalty for inadvertently carrying in a prohibited area on campus.

It was a watered-down version of a proposal initially introduced by the state legislature at the start of the year. The bill didn’t go as far as some campus-carry supporters would have liked, as it allows top officials at universities the discretion to ban guns from buildings on campus.

It “is an excellent first step,” said gun-rights group Students for Concealed Carry, in a statement. “We are looking forward to the next few years…[in which] we will work to finish the job and ensure licensed, law-abiding adults are not prohibited from defending themselves simply because they chose to pursue higher education.”

Andy Pelosi, the executive director of the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus, said: “We find it disheartening that many in the legislature continue to turn a deaf ear to the wishes of higher education officials, faculty, students, parents and campus law enforcement, who together made it crystal clear that they didn’t want guns on college campuses.”

The campus-carry vote represented the second win in the past week for Texas gun-rights supporters. On Friday, lawmakers approved a bill allowing the carrying of handguns openly on the streets. The bill, which is also expected to win Gov. Abbott’s signature, would reverse a ban dating to the post-Civil War era.

Source:http://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-lawmakers-expand-right-to-carry-guns-on-college-campuses-1433172341

[Dangerous Man 9,245]

I don't want to live in this world anymore.

 

 

[Blue Jeans 3,815]

Can't wait for the implosion of dumb gun related accidents next year..

When will Murica learn..

 

[Hellspont 1,468]

I am never going to get used to seeing a loud mouthed gun activist carrying a pistol on their belt, especially when they sit next to me in class.

[DrewStevens 5,249]

That's so Texas. 

[Lucifer 1,997]

What the ****.

[Lassex 1,169]

This is definetely bad news. When a wrong person gets a gun, everyone in the same place is in danger And what is the actual reason to this law? Does this help anyone? This makes me very uncomfortable...

[Vernier 3,786]

Potentially drunk college students with firearms. Wow, what ever could go wrong in this scenario  

[Morphine Prince 109,699]

Potentially drunk college students with firearms. Wow, what ever could go wrong in this scenario  

​Oh, don't be so rational. It's for everyone safety after all! 

[Kabexuela 1,184]

My ****ing word.  Why are we going backwards boys and squirrels????