Campus Carry in Texas
Campus Carry Transcript:
Member Ambassador Sherry Hale:
Hey Members, it’s that time of year again as kids get ready to head back to school.
However, guns on school campuses have a lot of us scratching our heads on what’s legal. Especially if we’re sending our kids off to college.
That’s why I recently visited the University of Texas campus in Austin to hear what some folks thought about campus carry in Texas.
Take a look.
I’m here in Austin, on the U.T. campus, and I have Alex, and I just wanted to ask you what you feel about campus carry.
Alex Z:
So I kind of have mixed thoughts on it. I personally think that if someone has the right training and goes through the concealed-handgun-license class and has proper, actual accuracy training and all that behind them, I don’t have a problem with it.
Sherry Hale:
I’m always curious about people coming from out of state, in your case, Virginia, what you’re feeling is about campus carry because obviously you know that campus carry is allowed at your soon-to-be university.
Blake B:
Yes ma’am. So in terms of campus carry, I’m a big proponent of like, I guess, safe and proper gun usage. So, for me the more properly trained and qualified people we have carrying firearms, the ones who have taken the classes, the ones who have done the research, had the experience, and the more of those that we have carrying, the better, in my opinion.
Toby B:
So I’m pretty neutral about it relatively speaking.
I can see both sides being fair arguments. But if I were to conclude as something that probably would be the fact that I’d probably go with that there should not be concealed carry on campus due to the fact there was a professor who retired about a year and a half ago because his argument was it is because of this. And his argument was that “Hey I teach the biggest class in the university. It’s like 600 students economics. And these kids are 18- to 22-years-old, they’re going through their biggest change of life generally speaking. And say one gets a bad grade, they’re having a bad time, five hundred people in the classroom, he has a concealed handgun. I mean, there’s a lot of things, so, with this age I wouldn’t necessarily, I guess, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that they should have it on campus.
Sherry Hale:
Do I want 18-year-olds to have a concealed gun? I mean, you know, have a LTC? Well, first of all they can’t. You have to wait till you are 21. So there’s not going to be anybody below 21 who’s carrying legally. You know obviously it’s only going to be the 21- and 22-year-olds, so you most likely already been at college for a couple of years. Now that I’ve said that, does that change your mind at all?
Toby B:
Yeah, I mean that’s that’s a more logical side for being for concealed carry, as well as, if a criminal is going to do something, he’s going to find a way to do it, if he if he’s inclined to do so.
Sherry Hale:
So, did you notice, with just a little reminder on gun laws, that I changed Toby’s view on campus carry?
That is precisely why we take educating our Members so seriously. Staying informed is what makes our Members stand apart from the average citizen.
We’d love to hear your feedback. Leave us a comment on Facebook [or in the comments section below] and let us know how you feel about campus carry.
https://blog.uslawshield.com/texas-university-students-react-campus-carry-2017/
Criminals ignore the LAW leaving every unarmed law abiding citizen a potential victim. People of this age trained as nd lice based could stop a real disaster. Keep in mind people of this age are considered old enough to be combat soldiers, so I do not buy the “too young” arguement.
Very good point! They are old enough for combat. Why should they be considered too young to carry.
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The news and Youtube are filled with stories about criminals being thwarted by LTC citizens, and one day I expect we in Texas will be very glad one of our number was carrying a handgun on a campus when the inevitable happens.
Robert,
I agree that those of age should be allowed to carry and I’m a huge proponent of 2nd Amentment. However, as a combat veteran myself, years of training and experience are a huge difference between someone that just turned 21, can shoot in a straight line at a moving target. I wish the state would require a some type of defensive shooting class to students carrying with no experience. Especially in a crowded environment of a campus. You don’t just get to take a shot at an active shooter because he’s out in the open. Bullets travel and we should be assured that some one can react to an active shooter. It’s easy to carry a firearm but having to actually engage and kill someone is a totally different ballgame. Just MHO.
I meant shoot at a target that is paper and no more than 15 yards away that doesn’t move at all.
I support the 21 and up part of the law, but I would be open to 18 and up LTC with a military ID.
I believe the following logic would apply for any situation, school, work, or any public establishment: If someone were to actually reach the heightened craziness to pull a gun on another person(s) and murder them, having a gun on them at the time or not would not stop them from becoming violent enough to harm people – There are plenty of things that would be close at hand that one could use as a weapon – knife, scissors, monitor, laptop, or even their car in the parking lot… I think people might have this misconception that just having a handgun on ones person, might somehow short circuit all of the normal steps of going from upstanding citizen to bloodthirsty crazed killer. As the previous commenter mentioned, someone bent on murdering other people will not let a law or rule stand in their way – They are about to commit murder. Why would any lesser law or principal matter at that point, and how would that law stop the murderer from bringing a gun onto campus where nobody is armed, and kill at their leisure? Consider how many past school shootings might have been cut short, if there would have been LTC holders present with their firearms.
I believe in the right to carry but what is the reason a student feels they need to carry? Security not up to par, campus bullying? Students are there to learn. You bring an unsettling feeling into an environment of learning that can and will upset the environment. No matter the age and years a student has at an institute of higher learning they are under stress to learn, so they just as susceptible as any other. We have already seen this in the news.
Students feel the need to carry, because everyone has the right, and unfortunately potentially the need, to defend themselves. How long do you think it would take campus security to react, and get to the scene of an active shooter? I can almost guarantee that if you are in the first group of people exposed to a crazed shooter that you would be wishing someone in that group of innocents had a gun. The only way any security would be able to save lives at the onset of a shooting would be if security were actually at the spot where it started – very unlikely. The possible “unsettling feeling” of knowing that some people on campus might be now legally carrying would most likely diminish fairly quickly, as the guns would be concealed, and it would become “normal” again. If I were a student, I would actually be more unsettled on a campus that did NOT allow carrying.
Billy, where in the news have we “already seen this”? You say you believe in the right to carry, then why restrict who or where they can carry? Every mass shooting of the last 15 years where there was significant loss of life occured in a “gun-free” zone. There have been attempted mass shooting in areas where concealed or even open carry is allowed and in those cases there was very minimal loss of life before the shooter was taken down by someone legally carrying a firearm. Can you imagine how many more lives would have been lost if those areas had also been gun free zones? I believe it was Toby who mentioned the professor who quit because of the gun laws saying he was afraid of the possibility of an upset student who might have a gun and shoot up the classromm because of it. People intent on doing harm dont care about the law. I guarantee you that not one shooter who was going to kill someone else stopped and said to themselves “Darn, this is a gun free zone and I cant bring my gun there. Guess i will just go back home”
So are you saying that if a student wants to shoot people, that they would be deterred simply if it were not legal to carry on campus? You do realize that shooting people is also not legal? Would they not either be inclined to break the law or not to break the law all together?
I believe the number of campus shooters will go down and the number of victims per shooter will be lower.
University of Texas – Houston Medical School also has a policy. Having said that, you pretty much can’t leave the garage with your weapon, so our policy, for my location, doesn’t allow us to carry. You can’t take it any place that may have patients. You can’t carry in the Med School. You have to keep it on you, so if you have to leave your desk, in the rare instance you actually are allowed to have it at your location, you can’t lock it in a case in your desk if you have to go to a meeting in an area you can’t carry. So yeah, essentially, we have a policy, but you can’t carry almost anywhere I would need to go beyond the parking garage, which I can already lawfully carry in my car WITHOUT a CHL, under the Texas Castle Law.
Best idea ever. A gun free zone is a defenseless victim zone.
It is absurd. It is a disaster waiting to happen. I will bet there will be accidental shootings and/or heat of the moment shootings. One is too many.
I’m willing to bet you have no experience being around firearms? Once an individual is trained on the use of these tools they begin to understand how rare an attack on the general population by a legally licensed carrier actually is. Wouldn’t you be open to having a professional trainer show you so you could then provide input from a position of personal experience?
You are using the same tired argument that people used when the original CHL law (30.06) went into effect. People said, “there will be gunfights everywhere and blood in the streets” and “we’ll be going back to the Wild West”! It didn’t happen then, and it’s not going to happen now.
Do you also advocate the return of prohibition to prevent drunk driving accidents?
Show me a college student who’s been mugged, assaulted, or raped, and I’ll show you a parent in favor of campus carry.
I’ve been legally carrying since I was 19 thanks to the Military clause in the state of Texas allowing Soldiers to apply and obtain their license at 18. And while I went straight into the Military, Soldiers who are serving in the Reserves or National Guard at 18 while going to college on a daily basis would be in the student population. This was a number of years ago though, and the law could easily have changed to eliminate the perk I got to enjoy at a younger age.
I fully support reducing the number of “No Carry” locations and students have the right to defend themselves from criminals. This is a good first step.
I am and LTC holder and do believe with campus carry. Note that when these mentally unstable people or terrorists attack innocent people, including children, its at a place where carrying a weapon is illegal for the most part and they know there will be little or no opposition. I believe that the more people that carry legally in these places, as laws change, the better opportunity to thwart threats and to minimize loss of life. This is just basic logic, yet so many people seem to be totally blind to logic or common sense today. (at this point I will get off of my soap box).
This guy has a point
good job on reminding “Toby” he was in error regarding “18-22 y/o” carrying a firearm. I was scrolling to your comment section here, but you did just the right thing.
But since I’m here … “Toby” also referenced the economics professor of the 600 member classroom. I’m a UT graduate and remember having a couple of those … when I was an underclassman. That professor was irrational or was simply using this as an excuse to do something he was doing WITHOUT campus carry: retire.
And as Toby eventually conceded, a criminal isn’t going to let the law prevent the illegal act from being committed. So … even if an underclassman illegally brought a firearm to class … what’s going to stop him from correcting the Keyesian puppet with force? Another with equal/superior force.
Liberals are useful. They provide an example of what NOT to do with regard to public policy/law.
Knowledge is power , not opinions , be prepared to support your view with facts , understand when you are feeding someone something they THINK they don’t like they are going to try and spit it out. Before you ask them to try it demonstrate how good it is i.e. Citizens lives saved by LTC holder, policeman assited by LTC holders , massacres that could have been adverted ot minimalized by LTC holder and finally criminals do not abide by laws but honest citizens are given the opportunity to protect themselves within the law.
The biggest reason students and teachers fear campus carry is lack of knowledge! Schools and antigun advocates never inform anyone of age limits and training. It does not fit their agenda.
Great video as always!
One quibble: You aren’t “left with 21 or 22 year-olds.” First, that leaves out graduate students. Second, these days there are lots of nontraditional students who may be twice that old, or more. Third, it’s “campus” carry, not “student” carry. That means the administration, the staff, visitors, and even (O.M.G.) the professors can also carry.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the average age of LTCs on campus was higher than the average age of the security or law enforcement officers in campus security.
I’ve always believed that if there had been someone with their LTC support there would have been more who would have lived in schoo and theater. I’m sure the ones related to the loss wishes that were true too!
I was a peace officer when the CHL first became law, & I had an applicant stop by the station to get his fingerprints done & he asked me how I felt about the law. I replied “That the people I worried about have always had guns” i.e. The criminals. The fact that they still have to have classroom & training but the background check is exstensive, I had a background check to become a police officer & a federal background check both were intense in their own perspective, but I must say the DPS does not leave any stone unturned their investigation is in depth. & there are so many areas that can prevent you from passing & actully receiving one. Again the criminals carry anyways & I would much better to have it & not need it, than God forbid I should need it & not have it. ALL of the mass shootings that we have were not perpetrated by licensed gun users but by average individuals who will find anyway possible.
This video was very well done. It is refreshing to see people talking about guns that appear to be ordinary people. The news media and gun control proponents tend to find people that look like they walked off the set of deliverance when they interview gunowners. Many times this lease an uneasy feeling with those in our society who are not educated on gun ownership or may have ambivalent feelings about gunowners. I would like to see more videos of this nature in what I would term as ordinary settings interviewing ordinary people about guns and gun ownership. When appropriate, correcting their perceptions and their misunderstandings about guns, people who own and use guns for various reasons, and gun law.
I am for campus carry, but have always felt the LTC practical test is way too easy. I have completed a 10-level tactical training curriculum including mindset training, draw techniques, reloading (speed and tactical), malfunction clearing, instinctive shooting inside 7 yards, aimed shooting outside 7 yards, shooting on the move, confronting multiple targets and pivit drills, shooting from cover, under automobiles, exiting automobiles…all the above both with strong and support hands, even all of the above while ‘wounded’.
If you’re going to carry to defend your life and those unarmed around you, please please please don’t think you know how to operate a pistol standing still shooting paper at a range that doesn’t even let you do hammer drills (double tap within about 7 yards). Do yourself a favor and take some courses!
I will be glad to pass along the shooting school I used to those interested in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.