Texas Campus Carry Law: What you need to know
Protection of everyone is mandatory and we need to take care of ourselves and our families for sure but the laws were established and according to those laws, it was prohibited for the students to bring a gun inside the schools. A new law was passed on August, 1 which allowed the students to carry the firearms concealed carry which they can carry into their class and other campus buildings in Texas.
- In the recent uptick in mass shootings, several of which have happened on college campuses, proponents of the law say that an armed student body might be able to prevent such incidents but on the other hand, there are fears that it can encourage violence on the other side as well.
- The Texas law took effect on the anniversary of the clock tower massacre, in which a student gunman shot around 49 people. He killed 16 people and the incident happened at the University of Texas at Austin. So a student of the University of Texas climbed on the 28th floor of the building and started firing on the students and staff at the same time.
- Texas is one of those eight states that allow the students to take guns with them into the colleges, buildings, and also in the universities as well which includes around 215000 students. A law that was passed in 1995 allowed students with concealed carry licenses to carry weapons on campus streets, sidewalks, and parking lots.
- This law officially says that there should be a very small number of students having certain age groups who can carry concealed carry licenses. According to the reports it has been seen that only 1% of students fulfill the criteria of having a concealed carry license.
The law does offer some power to university presidents to regulate concealed carry on their campuses, but that power is limited. By the letter of the law, any rules or regulations regulated by the university may not prohibit license holders to carry their handgun concealed carry on campus in the campus timings.
Where are guns allowed on Campus?
- The law allows guns in classrooms and buildings and dorms but each campus can make its own rules on where weapons are allowed. By the law, campuses must map out where guns are allowed or banned.
- At the University of Texas at Austin, for example, faculty members can declare their offices as gun-free zones. Students residing on campus can get their guns in common areas, including cafeterias and student lounges, but they are not being permitted to keep their weapons in their rooms because there is no place to store them
- Room restrictions exceptions will be made for visiting your family members licensed to carry the guns with them. State law still bans weapons campus-operated hospitals and school sporting events.
Guns laws or concealed carry laws have been in the books for almost 20 years, but gun rights supporters believed students that are studying in colleges or universities were not having their constitutional rights to bear firearms. Advocates of the campus carry have described that it also helps the students to defend themselves in an age of violent shootings. Opponents argue the law that could lead to more violence on college campuses in Texas.
Texas Concealed carry law was made for the protection of all the citizens of not only the Texas state but the other states as well. School, universities, and colleges are the places that need to be very peaceful because they are directly linked to the learning of adults. So, these are the laws and regulations of the Texas concealed carry law that are implemented on all the citizens. Many things need to be considered in this. One thing is the age of students like students must be having some valid reason or written proof and after that, they can be eligible for carrying a concealed carry. Eight states allow students to carry handguns with them on the campuses but only one percent of the total students fulfill the criteria. So there are proper rules and regulations and they get modified with time. Rules are made for our protection and we must follow those.
