Search found 1 match

Return to “SB 354 is being discussed NOW!”

by J.R.@A&M
Thu Apr 07, 2011 1:58 pm
Forum: 2011 Texas Legislative Session
Topic: SB 354 is being discussed NOW!
Replies: 92
Views: 12714

Re: SB 354 is being discussed NOW!

Faxed this to Sen. Ogden just now:

I am a professor and live in College Station (obviously voicing my own individual viewpoint).

I am disappointed, and frankly baffled, with the argument that I heard you make on the Senate floor today. What I heard you say was 1) you oppose the bill because the alleged small percentage of CHL holders on campus won’t effectively make the campus safer, and 2) you oppose the bill because it isn’t inclusive enough of others, i.e., those younger than 21 years of age, international students, and private colleges.

Your first point is actually a good counterpoint to the faulty arguments of Sen. Ellis and others that this bill would make campuses less safe. There is, of course, many years of evidence dispelling the notion that concealed carry laws result in increased crime (confirmed by the National Academy of Sciences, no less). And there is no evidence from the fifteen years of the Texas CHL law to expect a decrease in safety. Trying to forecast some sort of aggregate “campus safety” measure misses the point. Sen. Wentworth repeated referred to this bill as a matter of personal security, which it is. It is not the fault of the bill that only a certain percentage of people are willing to get a CHL. That is an individual choice, which brings on that individual the ability to protect himself or herself (as well as attendant responsibility and potential liability). The person does that do protect their individual person, not the campus. If the campus benefits from the stopping of a spreading threat, then so much the better.

Your second point makes even less sense. Sen. Wentworth correctly noted that his bill is removing restrictions in current law and therefore increasing personal liberty with regards to self-defense. It is clearly not the fault of SB 354 that current CHL law requires applicants to be 21 years or older. Likewise, current law restricts concealed carry by CHL holders in buildings of all institutions of higher learning. Sen. Wentworth’s bill reduces that restriction to only buildings of private universities. It is an obvious and politically practical step forward in liberty. As he invited you, you are free to offer amendments to fix the problems that you raise. But to use them as arguments against SB 354 is incomprehensible.

Since you raised these two somewhat disparate points, let me tie them together. The main reason for CHL laws is individual personal security. Thus extending CHL carry rights to include campus buildings is a practical and helpful improvement in both liberty and personal security. Virginia Tech notwithstanding, the more likely need for extending legal concealed carry into campus buildings is to protect individual CHL holders en route to campus, in the dark parking area, coming home from the library at midnight, etc.

Return to “SB 354 is being discussed NOW!”