Law Enforcement Committee Takes Up Concealed to Carry On University Campuses
Ok, I know it’s not as sexy as Regulated Industries looking into the electric situation in Texas. But Chairman Driver had his troops in Austin as well, to discuss, among other things, whether or not to craft legislation that would allow licensed individuals to carry concealed firearms on our college campuses.
Mind you, this hearing was just a start. No bills were drafted and no votes are scheduled, but the testimony heard before the committee did warrant a post. Either that, or I’m just really bored right now and refuse to admit it. Fueled by the emotion that still runs deep from stories like the Virginia Tech Massacre, many individuals from all walks of life made it down to Austin to testify before an otherwise routine interim committee hearing.
The committee heard from a Junior College professor who testified that during a natural disaster he is equipped with a plan to get his students to safety, but that during a terrorist attack, all he is equipped to do is watch them become victims. A female college student offered her thoughts that such a change in policy could help former victims of sexual assault like herself feel safer on the very campuses where they had previously fallen under attack.
Probably the best testimony of the day came from a Texas State student who shared with the committee the best statistic of the day, that of the college campuses already allowing concealed firearms, there have been zero reported criminal acts committed by concealed carriers. No drunken shootings. No arguments over a coed that ended in the worst way. No executions of the wing-man for not keeping the ugly girl occupied. Put simply, no reported acts of any violent irresponsibility that people fear from college students carrying concealed weapons on campus.
Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and smiles before the committee. A representative of Rice University’s campus security did testify against the idea, citing 3 specific reasons. First, he pointed out that despite our more than 4,000 college campuses in the United States, we’ve had less than a handful reported terrorist attacks, insuenating that we could be going after a fly with a baseball bat. He also testified that allowing students to lawfully carry concealed firearms will make it that much harder to identify those students who are unlawfully armed. And, he offered his warning that if concealed firearms were permitted, how would a SWAT unit that responds to a terrorist attack on a campus determine the difference between a shooter and someone retaliating against that shooter, all in a matter of a split second.
Both sides put up thoughtful arguments. As for myself, am I for or against? I’m going to reserve judgement in favor of learning more. What I am in favor of, though, is what we are doing…debating the merits either way.