The Chronicle for Higher Education
October 15, 2015
On August 1, 2016 — exactly 50 years after a student named Charles Whitman climbed into the University of Texas tower and shot 46 people, killing 14 of them — a new law on concealed firearms will take effect here. Already, emotions are exploding.
The law, known as SB 11 or "campus carry," will allow people who hold concealed-handgun licenses to bring their weapons into public-university buildings, including classrooms and dormitories, across the state.
The legislation applies to private four-year colleges as well, but they can opt out. Starting in 2017, it will apply to community colleges too.
The fact that the rollout coincides with the anniversary of one of the most infamous mass shootings in history isn’t lost on either supporters or opponents of the law.
Depending on your viewpoint, allowing people to carry concealed handguns could make the campus safer by giving potential victims a chance to fight back. Or it could make the campus a much more dangerous place. Some have raised fears that professors would be afraid to discuss provocative topics, or that distraught students would be more likely to harm themselves or others.
Against this backdrop of fiercely held and conflicting beliefs, a 19-member committee, appointed by the flagship campus’s president, Gregory L. Fenves, is struggling to devise recommendations on how to carry out the new law.
The committee’s work, which is likely to be closely watched in states, like Wisconsin, that are facing the prospect of similar laws, shows how polarizing the debate over guns on campuses is.
Texas law has, for 20 years, allowed licensed gun owners, who generally have to be at least 21, to carry concealed handguns on campus grounds. The change that has people here on edge is that the law would extend that into campus buildings.