TexasCHLforum.com

Vol Texan wrote:Done.

Here was my comment to them in the survey:

I understand there is a lot of concern about 'a bunch of drunk freshmen running around with guns', or inviting criminals to carry on campus. But please do remember, this is clearly not what the Campus Carry law is about. It's about a very small subset of the population who (a) are all adults, (b) have passed a criminal background check, (c) have passed a proficiency exam, (d) cause virtually no crime, and (e) can already carry on campus, just not inside the buildings.

Please allow me to expand on these ideas.

(a) Your average freshman cannot have a CHL. One must be over 21 to obtain the license, with some special exceptions to our military members. I would wager that the vast majority of your 18-20 year old students are not in the active military. The majority of the kids in the dorms won't be allowed to have a gun, because they don't have a CHL.

(b) Nobody gets a CHL without a thorough background check. These individuals have a verifiably clean criminal record.

(c) CHL holders take a class, pass a test, and pass a shooting exam. They are trained in when they can and cannot use their handguns, and the legal implications of choosing to do so. A key aspect of the CHL course is about 'non-violent conflict resolution' - meaning that the armed CHL holder will more likely de-escalate, apologize, and walk away, rather than escalate into an armed conflict.

(d) This is the key point - I've stated some things in my first three points that you may interpret as opinion, rather than fact. But the stats don't lie. CHL holders commit crimes at a statistically smaller rate than does the general population. Your average student is about 16-18 times more likely to commit a crime than is your average CHL holder. These are not my stats, these are the ones presented by the Texas DPS. And no, this is not a single year snapshot...this is a recurring theme over the 20+ years of the Texas CHL program. The DPS goes even further and shows that the average police officer in Texas is about 5-7 times more likely to commit a crime than is the average CHL holder. Yes, that is true...please don't believe me, but research it yourself on the Texas DPS website. Simply put, CHL holders don't engage in criminal activities all that much. They are the 'card-carrying good guys'. While the politically-appointed heads of some local police agencies may not acknowledge this fact, rest assured that the rank-and-file law enforcement officer knows this.

(e) Campus carry is a poorly named law. We can already carry on campus, and already do. I can carry on the grounds of my daughter's elementary school, and I already do. However, we cannot enter the buildings, or participate in school activities outdoors. To be honest, Campus Carry isn't really about having guns in the classrooms (although there have been some high-profile active shooter incidents inside buildings on campus in years past). It's about being able to protect yourself between the buildings. It's about a mom being able to attend a night class, and being able to protect herself on the way back to the bus (and again after getting off the bus on the way home). It's about a professor leaving late after hours and wanting to feel more self-reliant and protected on the way to the car.

Please consider these items when identifying the limited number of areas on a campus where a gun should continue to be restricted. Your CHL holders on your campus are a very small minority of people. Given the demographics of your student population, the percentage of CHL holders in that group will be minuscule. But these very few people all belong to a group that has proven itself to be among the most trustworthy and safe groups in Texas.