Higher Ed bill in Texas that I support.

Here's a piece of legislation I'm keeping tabs on and that I would very much like to see pass, eventually if not this session:

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SB 1164 by State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio)/ HB 1893 by State Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) Campus Personal Protection Act would repeal the Texas Penal Code ban for the possession of handguns by concealed handgun licensees (CHLs) on certain college and university properties currently prohibited by law. Individuals who have passed extensive state and federal criminal records checks, completed rigorous training requirements, and been issued licenses to carry handguns for self-defense by the Texas Department of Public Safety should not be prohibited from protecting themselves in so-called "gun-free zones" that currently exist around post secondary educational institutions in Texas. The House Law Enforcement Committee was charged with studying this issue over the interim, and their report is available at www.house.state.tx.us
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Current law says your CHLs is invalid on the premises of any school, including universities, and "premises" is defined as being inside any building. As a practical matter this means I'm barred from entering any building on campus if I am otherwise legally carrying concealed. As a matter of law, I could walk all around the campus with my permit and concealed handgun and so long as I never entered an actual building, I'd be obeying the statute. As a practical reality, when I do carry and am on foot, I stay away from campus entirely. Even though I would be perfectly within my rights driving through campus while carrying concealed, I tend to avoid it, obey the speed limit exactly, etc, to reduce the likelihood of being stopped by a campus police officer who may not understand the finer nuances of the CHL statute and what it allows and what it doesn't.

It means that I walk to and from work disarmed. I can and do carry everywhere else permitted by law, but currently work is not one of those places. I know I'm not the only library staff member who thinks this is nutty, but there's a marked reluctance to talk about this issue in any kind of organized way. Our student body is probably either too apathetic, or uninformed or mis-informed to organize around this issue. Our faculty, especially the nursing faculty, are openly hostile to such a measure, based on pacifistic and delusional attitudes all too common to the medical profession, sad to say. In sum, I don't think enough pressure can be mounted from below upon university administrations, but rather that their hand will have to be forced by the legislature.

Until then, I will continue to obey the law, however much I may personally disagree with it. I admit I was skeptical of concealed carry when it was proposed in the 1990s. But when Bush signed it into law and not only did the streets not turn into the OK Corral nor run red with blood and crime rates actually dropped, I reconsidered my position(s). In hindsight I think passing Texas's CHL statute into law was the only really good thing Bush did as governor, and the late Ann Richards's vetoing of the same legislation the one thing I can say I didn't like about her tenure as governor. I first started getting interested in firearms when I was a librarian down in Galveston, Texas, working for TAMUG. I purchased a Mossberg 12 gauge for home defense (which I still own and maintain for that purpose), and my first "deer" rifle, a .30-.30 Marlin levergun. It was on sale at Wal-Mart, which was preparing to get out of the gun biz at the time. Down in Galveston, though, I was still too chicken to purchase a serious handgun for personal defense, or unwilling to spend the money. At that time I'd only ever shot a .38 snub before, and mostly only my .22 LR Ruger Mark II. I had no experience with platforms like 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP; I was fearful of the recoil, etc.

I've come a long way since then, now owning at least one handgun chambered in the most popular calibers on the US market, both semiautos and revolvers. I've taken all of them to the range, become familiar and comfortable with their operation, and though it's not hard to do, I was only 2 points short of a perfect score on my CHL marksmanship test. Still looking forward to getting into more IDPA stuff this year, preferably close to Denton. I don't practice as much as I'd like to...I have debts to pay and ammo's not cheap these days.

Anyway, I've written to my state rep and state sentator in my capacity as a private citizen of the State of Texas, to urge them to support this amendment to the CHL statutes. I think it has a decent chance of passing, and Rick Perry has made noises in the recent past of being in favor of such a change to the law. I hope TSRA holds him to it when the time comes.

This change, for me, has a higher priority than the more controversial proposals out there to go back to legal "open carry" for handguns, which hasn't been legal in Texas since probably the 1860s or so, and its prohibition is said to have played a small role in the final gunfight that fatally wounded Texas outlaw and legend Sam Bass. Still, Texas is one of the few states in the union that criminalizes the open carry of handguns. Technically you can already legally openly carry long guns in Texas, but its not a practice I would recommend. I could sling my Marlin .30-30 on my shoulder and walk to the grocery store; I wouldn't do that, of course, even though technically it isn't illegal in Texas. OC for handguns is illegal, and so is "failure to conceal" for a CHL holder; If your sidearm "prints" on your exterior clothing, for example, you could be cited for failure to conceal. This can be tricky in Texas in the summer, but not impossible to avoid.

While I'm not necessarily opposed to OC for handguns in principle, as a practical reality, even Rick Perry has cold feet on the issue. Its time hasn't come yet, I feel, and I'd rather see CHL expanded and improved first, as far as legislative priorities go. Even if OC were legalized and campus carry permitted *including* OC (and we're a LONG way away from that yet), I would still opt to go concealed rather than open as a matter of personal preference. I can be safe, and keep others safe, but avoid freaking people out unnecessarily. I can see why some business owners might like to be able to OC, just like gun store employees already legally can. And I think Texans would get used to it eventually. But until it becomes legal and then so commonplace as to scarcely merit a mention, I prefer to legally carry *concealed* where the law allows. It's working on expanding that "where the law allows" part that is of chief concern to me right now.

I did put in a good word for OC to my state rep and my state senator, but I don't expect much traction on that issue yet.