You need to read the entire bill.J.R.@A&M wrote:That's what I was trying to say. Prohibiting it from most/all the buildings has the general effect of prohibiting carrying on the campus for those folks who are required by job/school obligations to spend their day inside the buildings. And that violates more than the spirit of the law. It violates Sec. 411.2031.3.d-1.mr1337 wrote:From the bill:Bladed wrote:What the bill says is that they can make regulations regarding concealed carry on the campus, including posting 30.06 on buildings, but can't prohibit concealed carry on the entire campus. Therefore, a college might need to bring its policy more into line with the prior state law (concealed carry allowed on the grounds but not in buildings), but there is nothing to stop them from prohibiting it in all of the buildings.J.R.@A&M wrote:Except that posting 30.06 on every building would "...generally prohibit or have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus of the institution." Most students, staff, and faculty are required to be inside a building. If that building, or if most buildings, are posted 30.06, then these CHLs are effectively prohibited. And that is expressly disallowed by Sec. 411.2031.3.d1.Bladed wrote:All the bill says is that they can't ban concealed carry on the entire campus. There is nothing to stop university presidents from posting 30.06 on every campus building, resulting in concealed carry being legal/illegal in exactly the same places as before.
Granted, it would have been better if Sec. 411.2031.3.d1 had used the word "buildings". And it would have been better if some standard had been specified (e.g., "no less than 80% of the buildings"). Still, if they post every building 30.06 they are clearly breaking the letter of the law.
Short of a lawsuit, I am not sure how to enforce it except with saber rattling by the Attorney General and supportive Legislators.
I agree with Charles that keeping a record of the colleges that ban concealed carry in all buildings will help make a strong case to the 2017 Texas Legislature, but that's not the same as having campus carry now.
Prohibiting it from all of the buildings has the effect of generally prohibiting from the campus.The president or officer may not establish provisions
that generally prohibit or have the effect of generally prohibiting
license holders from carrying concealed handguns on the campus of
the institution.
From Senate Bill 11:
(1) "Campus" means all land and buildings owned or leased by an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education.
From Penal Code Section 46.035:(3) "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.035, Penal Code.
Because a campus encompasses more than just the buildings, it would be possible to prohibit concealed carry in all campus buildings, without violating the letter of Government Code Section 411.2031(a)(3)(d-1), which says that a public college or university cannot prohibit concealed carry on the entire campus. Whether that would violate the spirit of that section is a question for the courts, but it's not unreasonable to assume that colleges and universities will walk as close to the line as the courts will allow, and I doubt it would surprise anyone here to see colleges and universities push that boundary until the courts pull them back.(3) "Premises" means a building or a portion of a building. The term does not include any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.
As Charles explained, this bill lays a solid cornerstone, but the structure that will protect CHL holders on college campuses remains to be built.
