My state senator, Jeff Wentworth, has introduced legislation, SB 1164, to permit carrying concealed weapons on college campuses. I think this is a terrific idea, these young people need to be able to defend themselves. After all, where else can you find a higher concentration of drug and alcohol abuse, and minimal impulse control than on today’s college campuses? There’s so much violence in our culture today, the addition of handguns to the equation must be the solution.
I’d like to see just one amendment to the senator’s bill; it should include permission to carry a concealed weapon in the state capitol building as well, especially the senate and house chambers. You never know when a hothead will start shooting and our legislators should be free to defend themselves. We wouldn’t want them to die like San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. Wait, wasn’t the guy that shot Harvey Milk a former supervisor? Maybe this whole thing isn’t such a good idea after all.
Update - I got this from a fellow who supports concealed weapons on campus. He corrected my mis-understanding about the right to carry concealed in the Texas state capitol. Being a transplant to Texas I made the foolish assumption that the capitol here operated the same as the capitols, courts and other government buildings I have visited elsewhere. This gentleman has corrected my understanding so that I now know that the cowboys in the legislature have the right carry already. I never cease to be amazed at the gun culture of this country and this state. Here it is:
In response to your recent blog post "Texas - concealed weapons on college campuses," I thought you might like to know that, contrary to the last paragraph of your post, concealed carry is allowed in the Texas Capitol. Concealed handgun license holders are allowed to carry throughout the Texas Capitol, with the exception that only State Representatives and State Senators are allowed to carry in the House and Senate chambers when a session is in process. If it’s not too much to ask, I would like to see you add a correction notice to your blog. This issue needs to be debated on the basis of its merits, not on the basis of misinformation.
If you’re interested in learning the facts of this issue, including where concealed carry is and isn’t allowed in the state of Texas, you might want to check out the "SCCC Handbook: Texas Edition," a publication put out by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). The handbook can be downloaded here: http://www.StudentsForConcealedCarry...
Now in response to that I have read his very nice PDF document and while some of it seems logical and is supported with empirical data, I don't find that data sufficient as they claim 88 semesters without incident but what we're really talking about is 2 years on a very small sampling of campuses compared to the country as a whole.