Diverse Sources: Campus Carry-Cunningham

Campus carry shows divided opinion among students

-By Kaci Cunningham

The new bill signed by Governor Greg Abbott concerning campus carry shows Texas State students expressing passionate opinions on both the pros and cons on the expansion of the second amendment.

The two bills were passed in Texas on June 13, 2015 known by the names of SB11 and HB910 which allow anyone with a concealed handgun license to openly carry a handgun in public and also allow anyone with a license to openly carry on a college campus, according to Greg Abbotts Office of the Governor website.

Supporters of the bill argue that the bill is just expanding what the second amendment exercises.

“It’s a constitutional right, we should be able to carry,” said San Antonio native Garrett Wittaker, a construction science and management major at Texas State University.

Wittaker, photo by Kendell Brandon

Others who support the bill say the bill is going to create a safer environment for students with people who are licensed to have handguns around them.

“People should feel free to carry guns, but there needs to be strict regulations. People should be educated before deciding to bring a weapon to campus,” chemistry major Carlos Ramirez said.

Students who support the bill say campus carry will help students feel safer on a college campus, because there will be people with a license that could possibly save the lives of other students if a mass shooting were to occur on campus.

Opponents of the bills, on the other hand, argue that campus carry will be harmful to college campuses and the public.

Graduate Student, Sergio Bedford, said the bill “Sounds like a very, very dangerous idea. It takes one kid to get a bad grade on a test and then someone gets hurt or killed.”

People against the bill say that gun violence will most likely spike when the law is passed in an environment where drugs, alcohol, depression, and domestic violence cases already occur, said Jonathon Panzer, an executive director of Texas Gun Sense, an advocacy group who opposed the bill in an article by USA Today.

Even with lots of training and education it’s still not safe for students to be able to carry a handgun on campus. Police should be the only ones who carry guns on campus because they have to go through much more training, Abdul Nono said, a freshman studying industrial engineering.

Opponents of campus carry say guns are an all around bad idea and would just add fear to the lives of the students on campus.

“It makes me really uncomfortable, mostly because you just never know how people will react to certain things and if they’re having a bad day it’s just so easy for them to pull out their gun and scare someone,” said sociology major Amy Lee Pena.

Pena, photo by Katherine Olesen

Though a poll taken by The Texas Tribune says that the vote for and against campus carry were about split in half, 47% supporting and 45% opposing, the law is said to be put into action on August 1, 2016. For more information about the bills here is an article by USA Today.