Content about Handgun
Most UT students will remain ineligible to obtain a concealed handgun license after a district court ruling last week.
United States district judge Samuel Cummings threw out a motion to overturn a Texas law that prohibits 18- to 20-year-olds from obtaining a concealed carry license on Thursday.
Fewer women than men in the U.S. hold concealed handgun licenses and women who do carry them do so for self-defense and a need to feel empowered, according to a study by sociology graduate student Angela Stroud.
Stroud said her study, which involved 15 interviews with women who hold concealed handgun licenses, found that women seek the license to feel as powerful as men in a culture where women are taught to feel vulnerable.
The proposed concealed carry bills state that concealed handgun license holders will be able to carry their guns onto campus.
On Wednesday night, the TIP program hosted a panel in the Union Theatre about the possible legislation that will force public colleges and universities in Texas to allow licensed individuals to bring their concealed handguns on campuses.
As the Texas House and Senate consider legislation that would legalize concealed carry of handguns on campus by licensed individuals, four members of the UT community met Wednesday to debate the issue in the Texas Union Theatre.
Jim Bryce held back tears as he recounted memories of 45 years ago, when he was supposed to meet a friend for lunch at the Texas Union, but saw a shooter inside the UT Tower on the news.
Bryce and classmate Sandra Wilson were students at UT in 1966, when Charles Whitman, a student and former Marine, opened fire atop the Tower, killing 14 people and wounding 31.
Both testified before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee about the concealed carry on campus bill Tuesday along with current students, including members of student lobbying group Invest in Texas.
The state Senate Committee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday heard testimony from supporters and opponents of SB 354, a bill which would allow concealed handgun license holders to carry concealed handguns inside buildings of Texas public universities, including UT.
As state legislators take up the issue of concealed carry on campus this session, 66 people are one step closer to receiving their concealed handgun licenses.
Michael Cargill, UT Students for Concealed Carry on Campus and a Department of Public Safety certified instructor, hosted a concealed handgun licensing course for the second consecutive year, said the group’s vice president Kory Zipperer.
Two survivors of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting want Texas lawmakers to vote against bills that would allow students to carry concealed handguns on campus, they said at a press conference Thursday.
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, filed a bill that could allow licensed individuals to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, filed a similar bill in the House.
Higher education campuses in Texas have been designated gun-free zones for 15 years, but lawmakers will try again to change that this legislative session.
Since the start of the 82nd Texas Legislature last month, Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, and Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, have each filed bills to allow carrying licensed concealed handguns on campus.
UT Division of Housing and Food Services follows institutional rules that ban all weapons and facsimiles on all areas of campus, subject to a third-degree felony.
Students at Texas State University may become the first in the state to approve of legislative efforts to reverse Texas’ ban on concealed carry on state campuses pending approval from the student body president.
The Associated Student Government’s 24-10 vote supports a proposed bill by state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, that would allow licensed owners to carry concealed handguns while on any public or private college campus in the state. To obtain a state-issued handgun license, the licensee must undergo background checks, training and testing.
Concealed carry of handguns on college campuses has been a divisive issue in the Texas Legislature since 2007, and elected officials will go another round on the issue once the new session starts in January.
State Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, filed a bill on Monday that would allow those who possess a concealed handgun license to carry a handgun on university campuses. To obtain a concealed handgun license, applicants must be of sound mind, have no criminal record, be at least 21 years of age and take a course on proper concealed carry procedure.
