UT Tyler Campus Carry Policy

[Lynyrd]

UT Tyler has finalized it's campus carry policy.

http://www.kltv.com/story/31581206/ut-t ... exceptions

If you go to KLTV's facebook page you can read comments about this. Most are very supportive, but a few are not. Here are a few quotes from FB.

"Campus carry is something that will be taken into consideration when helping my son choose a university. I will not pay to send him to a school that allows students to carry a gun"

"Surely some of you are not so naive to think people haven't already been bringing guns into your class..."

"All the people who are against this.... How many times have you gone to Walmart???? Guess how many of those times you have been in the store with not 1 but multiple CHL holders?"

[mr1337]

"Campus carry is something that will be taken into consideration when helping my son choose a university. I will not pay to send him to a school that allows students to carry a gun"

"Surely some of you are not so naive to think people haven't already been bringing guns into your class..."

"All the people who are against this.... How many times have you gone to Walmart???? Guess how many of those times you have been in the store with not 1 but multiple CHL holders?"

Ignorance is bliss. Anti-gun Texans have been around legally concealed guns for the past 20 years, they just don't know when and how often.

[Lynyrd]

Ignorance is bliss. Anti-gun Texans have been around legally concealed guns for the past 20 years, they just don't know when and how often.

Most of them also don't have a clue about what is legal, what isn't legal, what the qualifications are, etc., etc. I CC every day at work. I know there are some that would be nervous as all get out if they knew. They are the minority, thankfully. At the same time, these people think nothing about seeing an armed security guard.

[Oldgringo]

"I will not pay to send my son...."

I had to work to pay my way through college and yes, we were responsible young adults and had guns in the dorms. AFAIK, there weren't any carried concealed; granted, it was a kinder and gentler nation back then without all the reality TV, electronic gizmos and with real music.

[AJSully421]

I had to leave my pistol in my truck for my entire college career. I wasn't too worried about it at TCU, but things do happen.

I don't think that the TXLEG will ever force private colleges to have concealed or open carry on campus, but it would sure be nice for some of these schools to see problem-free campus carry for a few years and then come around on the issue... but I doubt that will ever happen.

I am still waiting for the "blood in the streets" open carry people to admit that they were wrong.

[NotRPB]

I'd be interested in a study of Car burglaries on Campuses over the next several years comparing GUN FARMS (Private Universities requiring car storage) versus "empty cars" lots at public universities where licensees carry the guns inside with them instead of leaving them in cars for car burglars to harvest)
When I want to pick Peaches, I'd go to a Peach orchard, not to empty farm fields

[RossA]

If someone won't send their kid to a school that allows handgun carry, they will have to pay a hell of a lot more money to send them to a private school.

[jb2012]

I am going to assume (safely assume) that a year from now no one will care about this issue because it won't be an issue. We are statistically the most responsible people in the country and allowing us to continue what we do every day in or out of a classroom will only change one thing: the underdog will be equalized. I predict a lower campus violence rate as well across te state.

[Jusme]

If someone won't send their kid to a school that allows handgun carry, they will have to pay a heck of a lot more money to send them to a private school.

Additionally, they are sending their kids to "gun free" zones which puts them at a greater risk of being attacked, either by someone with a gun or sexual predators who know that their victims are unarmed. Great call mom and dad.

[mr1337]

If someone won't send their kid to a school that allows handgun carry, they will have to pay a heck of a lot more money to send them to a private school.

Additionally, they are sending their kids to "gun free" zones which puts them at a greater risk of being attacked, either by someone with a gun or sexual predators who know that their victims are unarmed. Great call mom and dad.

Have anti-gunners ever been known for their grasp on reasoning and logic?

[jkurtz]

I had to leave my pistol in my truck for my entire college career. I wasn't too worried about it at TCU, but things do happen.

I don't think that the TXLEG will ever force private colleges to have concealed or open carry on campus, but it would sure be nice for some of these schools to see problem-free campus carry for a few years and then come around on the issue... but I doubt that will ever happen.

I am still waiting for the "blood in the streets" open carry people to admit that they were wrong.

When did you go to TCU? I go there now and would not be surprised to hear of vehicle break ins. The police force is pretty small and they cant watch over all the parking lots at once, especially the ones further from main campus that the commuter students have to use. The area TCU is in is pretty interesting. The areas immediately adjacent to campus are pretty nice, but that changes quickly as you head East down Berry towards 35.

[cb1000rider]

Additionally, they are sending their kids to "gun free" zones which puts them at a greater risk of being attacked, either by someone with a gun or sexual predators who know that their victims are unarmed. Great call mom and dad.
:

That makes sense to me, but are there any statistics to actually back that up? Does being in a gun free zone actually increase the risk of being a victim of gun violence or the victim of a sexual predator? I'd love to be able to point to those facts.

It costs enough these days just to go to public school... I think we'll be looking at or near $100k all in these days..

[Jusme]

Additionally, they are sending their kids to "gun free" zones which puts them at a greater risk of being attacked, either by someone with a gun or sexual predators who know that their victims are unarmed. Great call mom and dad.
:

That makes sense to me, but are there any statistics to actually back that up? Does being in a gun free zone actually increase the risk of being a victim of gun violence or the victim of a sexual predator? I'd love to be able to point to those facts.

It costs enough these days just to go to public school... I think we'll be looking at or near $100k all in these days..

The majority of shootings that have occurred on college campuses and other locations have been where guns were prohibited. Virginia Tech, Aurora Colorado, etc..

Here is a wikipedia link that lists school shootings going way back in history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... ted_States

It doesn't take a big leap to conclude that if an attacker believes the intended victim may be armed, he/she will seek greener pastures. This has even been proven through jail house interviews with criminals who say that they fear an armed citizen more than they do the police. "Gun Free" simply means that criminals are safe to ply their trade. I too look at the colleges where guns are prohibited and will not send my son there. He won't be eligible for his LTC until he is 21, but the fact that there may be others there who are potentially able to stop an attacker gives me much more peace of mind than a college that won't allow legal carry.JMHO

[cb1000rider]

The majority of shootings that have occurred on college campuses and other locations have been where guns were prohibited. Virginia Tech, Aurora Colorado, etc..

So if you're talking about school shootings, I agree, most of those would likely be "gun free zones". If you're talking about mass shootings in general - most are not gun free zones:

From what I can find, 2009-2015, 133 "mass" shootings (mass being 4 or more people killed):
94 incidents on private property (not "gun free zones")
38 incidents public spaces, 17 of these public spaces were "gun free".

So that's about 12% of the incidents were in gun free zones. It doesn't scream "unsafe" to me. The question is, if those zones allowed guns, would it drop below 12%? That's not so obvious.

Although one would think that criminals would seek soft/easy targets, I'm not sure that such is the primary motivation of such mass killings.. Seems to me - this is about attention, not the safety of the shooter... But I don't know that you'll get first hand accounts from that many shooters.

To me, being on a college campus really hasn't changed much decades ago. I think that firearms should be allowed, but don't forget that not everyone is a responsible gun owner, especially in a college environment, so statistically there will be undesired consequences (aka "accidents"). That's not me arguing against it 2nd amendment on campus, it's simply stating a fact. Probably of accidents do not necessarily negate the rights of personal protection, at least not to me.

I'm not sure that an educational institution's firearms policy sways my educational choices very much, at least not in terms of safety. In terms of politics maybe, but that's a conscious choice, and it doesn't try to point to an issue of safety which doesn't seem to be there.. The odds of being killed in a mass shooting are something like 1 in 12 Million and they're actually substantially lower than that (see mass shootings above) if you're only considering these incidents that happen at an educational institution. If you really think that a "no guns" policy is a big safety concern, wouldn't you pull your kids out of current public schools and enroll them in a private school with some sort of armed protection?

The reality is that it's probably much more effective to upgrade the safety of you kids' vehicle - that's much more likely to have a primary influence on their well being.

This is one of those media-hyped issues that leads to heated debate and some level of hysteria. The threat to public safety (with or without guns) seems to be ridiculously low compared to other every-day risks that we have some control over.

[AJSully421]

I had to leave my pistol in my truck for my entire college career. I wasn't too worried about it at TCU, but things do happen.

I don't think that the TXLEG will ever force private colleges to have concealed or open carry on campus, but it would sure be nice for some of these schools to see problem-free campus carry for a few years and then come around on the issue... but I doubt that will ever happen.

I am still waiting for the "blood in the streets" open carry people to admit that they were wrong.

When did you go to TCU? I go there now and would not be surprised to hear of vehicle break ins. The police force is pretty small and they cant watch over all the parking lots at once, especially the ones further from main campus that the commuter students have to use. The area TCU is in is pretty interesting. The areas immediately adjacent to campus are pretty nice, but that changes quickly as you head East down Berry towards 35.

Class of '10. I would not park in the commuter lot over by Paschal. I heard of break-ins over there... but it was stupid stuff like GPS, phones, tablets, shopping bags and stuff left out that could be seen from the outside. I had my truck looking completely empty, no gun stickers on it, and didn't have a problem the whole time I had it parked over by the stadium.