Dear Members of the Texas Media:
I wish to clear up a few “facts” about campus carry that are consistently misreported by the media:
- Several editorialists and journalists have reported that a recent poll by the Texas Police Chiefs Association found 75% of Texas police chiefs opposed to campus carry. In reality, this poll asked only about OPEN carry and did not ask about campus carry: https://www.scribd.com/doc/255693186/Texas-Police-Chiefs-Association-Open-Carry-Survey-2015
- Several editorialists and journalists have reported that Texas A&M University currently allows campus carry; however, this is not true: http://www.texastribune.org/2013/05/09/texplainer-does-texas-m-already-allow-campus-carry/
- Several editorialists and journalists have repeated opponents’ claim that most Texans oppose campus carry; however, the most recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll found 47% of Texas voters in support of campus carry and 45% opposed to it: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/02/24/uttt-poll-voters-less-open-open-carry/
The basis for the claim that most Texans oppose campus carry is a highly biased poll conducted by the gun-control organizations Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. The discrepancy between the findings of the UT/Texas Tribune poll and the Everytown/MDA poll is likely do, at least in part, to the fact that the questions asked by the Everytown/MDA poll do not accurately reflect the statutory changes that would result from the passage of Texas Senate Bill 11. Here are three quick examples:
“Do you think college students should be allowed to carry concealed handguns on college campuses?”
This question contains no mention of licensing or age restrictions and does not differentiate between concealed carry and open carry. There is a big difference between allowing all 51,000 students at the University of Texas-Austin to carry handguns in any manner they choose and allowing concealed carry by the approximately 400 who are over the age of 21 and licensed to carry a concealed handgun.
“Do you think people should be allowed to carry concealed handguns at college football games and other sporting events?”
Neither SB 11 nor HB 937 would allow concealed carry at collegiate sporting events.
“Do you think guns should be allowed in college fraternity and sorority houses?”
Neither SB 11 nor HB 937 would change the laws at fraternity or sorority houses (which are located off-campus and owned/governed by the overseeing fraternal organizations).
I hope this helps you more accurately report on efforts to legalize the licensed concealed carry of handguns on Texas college campuses. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. As always, a basic overview of SCC’s case for the legalization of campus carry can be found in our 2015 Texas legislative handout: https://www.scribd.com/doc/255815743/SCC-s-2015-Texas-Legislative-Handout
Sincerely,
Madison D. Welch
Southwest Regional Director
Students for Concealed Carry
www.ConcealedCampus.org
Students for Concealed Carry is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprising over 44,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that they enjoy virtually everywhere else. SCC has members in all 50 states and is the largest college firearms organization in the country
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