Legislation allowing concealed handguns on state campuses has incited passionate debate at UT. This battle has been ongoing since the founding fathers guaranteed “the right to bear arms” in the Bill of Rights.
In protest of a new bill, UT students and faculty, will walk out of classes today at 11:30 a.m. and march to the steps of the Texas Capitol against guns on college campuses.
Today marks the second anniversary of the shooting at Virginia Tech.
Several constitutional law professors across the country, however, are debating this issue in light of the rights listed in the U.S. Constitution. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects the
individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in the militia, but the question remains whether or not this right applies to the states.
Raymond Kessler, a criminal justice professor at Sul Ross State University, said the Heller case attempted to clarify the meaning of the Second Amendment and that the focus of the court’s opinion was on arms for self-defense.
“Like all constitutional rights, this right is not absolute,” Kessler said. “Whether the amendment applies against state governments is currently an open question. Thus, at this point, the amendment has no effect on state legislation.”
He said the court failed to clearly specify the standard of review to be used in Second Amendment cases when an individual challenges a law.
“The Second Amendment, like most of the parts of the Bill of Rights, should apply against the states,” Kessler said. “Further, I believe the Second Amendment should trigger the highest level of scrutiny, requiring government to provide strong justification.”
Kessler said that if strict scrutiny were applied to the states, a state ban on carrying on campus with a concealed-handgun license would be unconstitutional.
Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the Texas Constitution gives power to lawmakers to prevent crime but that the question remains whether the Legislature should restrict carrying guns in certain places and certain ways.
“The constitutional matter is not imperative, but at the same time it’s a matter of good policy,” Volokh said. “Protecting the right to self-defense is an important moral right. My sense is that allowing concealed carry is, generally speaking, a good idea.”
The concealed-carry bill would allow students to obtain a license to carry handguns on campus. In order to obtain a license, a person must be at least 21 years old, pass a background check, complete a safety training course and be “of sound mind.”
“The kind of people who get the licenses, you don’t have to worry about,” Volokh said. “The kind of people who worry about committing murders don’t carry around permits.
People worry about mass shooters, but it’s not like he isn’t going to do the shooting if he doesn’t have a permit.”
Volokh said it is possible that the use of guns on campus may lead to more crimes, but said it is hard to see why it would be any different than carrying around a gun on the street, which is currently legal in Texas.
Paul Finkelman, an Albany Law School professor and former UT history and law professor, said that from a constitutional standpoint, the Texas Legislature has the right to allow concealed carry on campus, but he questioned the logic of state legislators.
“I think no one ever accused the Texas Legislature of being smart,” Finkelman said. “It seems to be an inordinately stupid plan because it means any lunatic can come on campus with a gun.”
He said he was surprised that anyone in Texas would consider wanting to have guns on state campuses, particularly UT.
“Given the history of UT when someone climbed up a tower and started shooting people, … what are these people thinking?” Finkelman said.
He said the Supreme Court rulings have basically said they are free to regulate fire arms.
“The sociological evidence is clear that if guns are handy, people will use them,” Finkelman said. “Having such a rule is an encouragement of death and mayhem at the University of Texas. There is no other way to describe it.”
“I think no one ever accused the Texas Legislature of being smart, It seems to be an inordinately stupid plan because it means any lunatic can come on campus with a gun.” Hey Paul... smart guy... How'd that ban on guns work out at Virginia Tech? It allowed ONLY the lunatics to bring guns on campus. I guess no one will accuse YOU of being smart either.