Legislature might revisit issue of guns on campus

AUSTIN — After causing a stir but falling short by two votes in the past legislative session, the so-called campus carry bill is back on the table, this time amid a national debate on gun laws.

State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, filed his version of the bill, SB 182, Thursday. It seeks to ban any public university from prohibiting students, faculty or staff with a concealed handgun license to carry on campus, including classrooms.

Former state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, championed a similar bill last session.

“For me, this isn't just about the firearm,” Birdwell said in a statement. “It's about trusting citizens with their God-given, constitutional rights.”

Many university administrations in the state have said they oppose the measure and contend the decision of whether concealed handguns should be allowed on their property should be a campus-by-campus decision rather than a statewide policy.

Ralph Meyer, Texas State University's police chief and the former president of the Texas Association of College and University Police Administrators, said the school's leaders are opposed to the measure and believe a blanket policy may not work in a state as geographically diverse as Texas.

“Some schools out in West Texas that are 50 miles from a deputy; they need it. It's a different situation than larger schools,” said Meyer who's against the measure but believes university police chiefs across the state are “split on the issue.”

Administrators at some universities, like Texas A&M and the University of Houston, have said they will follow the Legislature's lead.

Francisco Cigarroa, chancellor of the University of Texas System, opposed Wentworth's bill in a letter to Gov. Rick Perry.

Student leaders at both schools are divided. Texas A&M's Student Senate passed a resolution in support of the bill in November. Cedric Bandoh, student president at the University of Houston said he was “vigorously opposed” to it in a past interview.

A campus poll at the University of Texas at San Antonio showed two-thirds of students are against concealed weapons on campus, said Xavier Johnson, student president.

Ben Stratmann, Birdwell's chief of staff, said the senator was not available for comment Thursday, but provided this statement: “Sen. Birdwell believes higher education administrators and officials ought not be deciding whether or not an individual has the right to carry a firearm — or exercise any constitutional right — on State of Texas property.”

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Texas is one of 21 states that ban concealed handguns on public campuses. Twenty-three states leave the decision to ban or allow concealed weapons on campus to the individual college or university. Five states require universities to allow them, which Birdwell's bill aims to do.