Lone Star College shooting renews calls for concealed carry on college campuses

Last Tuesday’s shooting at Lone Star College in Houston has prompted a student group to call on state legislators to pass legislation that would grant students the ability to carry concealed handguns on campus.

The Texas chapter of Students for Concealed Carry are backing the Campus Protection Act.

Members of the Texas chapter of Students for Concealed Carry (SCC) are backing the Campus Personal Protection Act, or HB 750, which was introduced in the Texas State Senate last week by state senator Brian Birdwell.

Madison Welch, the Texas Legislative Director for SCC and a Texas A&M University student, argued in a press release last week that such a law would afford students the ability to defend themselves in lone shooter scenario.

“We’re asking the State of Texas to amend the law so that it no longer places CHL [concealed handgun license] holders at the mercy of any lunatic or criminal willing to disregard it,” said Welch.

“We’re not asking that CHL holders be used to protect college campuses,” she added, differing their wishes from a plan recently unveiled at the NRA headquarters near Washington D.C. “We’re asking that CHL holders on college campuses be allowed the same measure of personal protection they’re already allowed virtually everywhere else.”

To obtain a CHL in Texas an individual must be 21 years of age and pass both state and federal background checks.

Tuesday’s shooting at Lone Star College wounded three individuals nearly one month after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which ignited a major national debate on gun control.

Birdwell, who introduced the bill, said its importance transcends firearms

“It’s about trusting citizens with their God-given constitutional rights,” he said in a press release last Thursday.

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