Campus Carry Bill Critique

On Tuesday July 28, 2015, LoBeau published a blog titled A Deadly Combination to the ongoing blog: Next Generation Feminist arguing against the signing of a campus carry bill by Governor Greg Abbott. I have to disagree with this argument. I attend UT during the long semester and there have been many times that I have received warning/emergency messages from UTPD about violent behavior and threats especially near Guadalupe which so happens to be the street I have to walk to get to my parking garage. The most recent one I received stated "UTPD searching for subject who displayed a knife at 2400 Guadalupe. Male subject in tyedye shirt." How are students supposed to protect themselves from this kind of situation?

There are a number of restrictions put on who may or may not receive a handgun license that exclude people with certain backgrounds from being eligible such as:

Felony convictions (permanent) and Class A or B misdemeanors (5 years, permanent in cases of domestic violence), including charges that resulted in probation or deferred adjudication.

Pending criminal charges (indefinite until resolved)

Chemical or alcohol dependency (defined as 2 convictions for substance-related offenses in a 10-year period; 10-year ban from the date of the first conviction)

Certain types of psychological diagnoses (indefinite until the condition is testified by a medical professional as being in remission)

Protective or restraining orders (indefinite until rescinded)

Defaults on taxes, student loans, child support and/or other governmental fees (indefinite until resolved).

In my opinion, the people that go through the legal process of getting their handgun license, etc. are responsible enough to carry a gun for protection. Most likely, the people that are going to cause harm with a weapon would bring one regardless of the rules, so unless campuses throughout the states are going to check each and every student as they walk on campus, which is very unlikely, having a weapon for protection on campus is necessary.