Protecting College Students

I was contacted today, ironically on the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings, by a representative of the Texas State Rifle Association for my support of HB 2178.  This bill, introduced by TX State Rep. Joe Driver, would allow college students who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Texas to bring their firearms to campus, if left locked safely in their cars.  You may or may not remember the 2002 Appalachian School of Law shooting, where a would-be mass murderer was stopped by two students who retrieved firearms from their cars.

While I don't think this bill goes quite far enough, I strongly support it.  I've copied the letter supporting HB 2178 that I sent to Rep. Driver below.  I've also copied the letter I sent in support of a different HB 750 that I also support, but doesn't look to have as good a chance of passing as HB 2178.

It took the Columbine massacre for officials to start paying attention to how we do security at high school campuses.  The Virginia Tech shootings four years ago should have resulted the same level of changes to how we do security on college campuses, but it hasn't.  Things have improved to some degree, but not nearly as much as the high schools.  We can't have another Virginia Tech to get this right.  We should be pro-active.  We need to allow adults who are licensed by the state to carry a concealed firearm at the mall, in a restaurant, and on the street to carry that same firearm to class at college.  People with licenses DON'T COMMIT VIOLENT CRIMES...this has been borne out repeatedly in state-after-state where cooler heads have prevailed.  On the other hand, places that have maintained ludicrously overbearing gun-rights restrictions have the HIGHEST VIOLENT CRIME RATES in the country (i.e., Chicago, the District of Corruption, NYC, etc.).

Let's get this right, folks.

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The Honorable Joe Driver

P.O. Box 2910 Capitol Station

Austin, Texas   78701

20 April 2011

RE:  HB 2178 (Possession of Handguns by CHL Holders on Campus)

Dear Representative Driver:

I want to thank you for introducing HB 2178 this session.  As Executive Director and Dean of a Texas university, I am very worried about the level of security we can provide for our students and staff.  Because of the non-traditional model we use at my campus (adult students, night- and weekend-classes) and the fact that we are a small, private institution, we cannot provide full-time law enforcement personnel on the premises.

In the unlikely (but possible) event of an active shooter, I have absolutely no way of protecting the lives of my staff and/or students under current Texas law.  HB 2178 would allow me (a licensed CCW-holder in Texas) and similarly-licensed adult students to keep a firearm in the vehicle, accessible in case of an event like the Virginia Tech event of four years ago.  As you know, a firearm retrieved from a vehicle stopped a mass murderer at the Appalachian School of Law in 2002.

I understand there is emotional opposition to this common-sense measure.  However, strong emotions won’t protect men and women who are attending class in the event of armed violence by a determined criminal or criminal group.  Emotional appeals fail in the face of the simple logic that an active shooter, unopposed on a college campus, will inflict tremendous casualties, as has been seen in recent campus shootings over the past decade.

Sincerely,

J. B. Boren, PhD, CCES

Executive Director and Dean

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The Honorable Joe Driver

P.O. Box 2910 Capitol Station

Austin, Texas   78701

20 April 2011

RE:  HB 750 (Possession of Handguns by CHL Holders on Campus)

Dear Representative Driver:

I want to thank you for introducing HB 750 this session.  I note with some irony that today, April 20^th, is the 12^th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.  As a society, we have radically changed how we do security at public and private high schools.  We have not responded with as much determination where our college campuses are concerned.

As Executive Director and Dean of a Texas university, I am very worried about the level of security we can provide for our students and staff.  Because of the non-traditional model we use at my campus (adult students, night- and weekend-classes) and the fact that we are a small, private institution, we cannot provide full-time law enforcement personnel on the premises.

In the unlikely (but possible) event of an active shooter, I have absolutely no way of protecting the lives of my staff and/or students under current Texas law.  HB 750 would allow me (a licensed CCW-holder in Texas) and similarly-licensed adult students to bring their concealed firearms with them to the campus, making them accessible in case of an event like the Virginia Tech event of four years ago.  Obviously we can’t arm high school students, but the median age of students at my campus is 39 years.  Those who choose to undergo the rigors of the licensing system in Texas should be allowed under law to protect themselves and others from active shooter-criminals, terrorists, or more likely, drug-related criminal activity.  We cannot wait for another Columbine-like event to make these changes in our laws to protect college students.

Sincerely,

J. B. Boren, PhD, CCES

Executive Director and Dean

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