Campus Handgun Bill Passes Texas Senate, Likely to Pass House
Eric Robinson
On April 30, the Texas Senate passed SB 1907, a campus handgun bill that would allow university and college students to store handguns in their vehicles while on campus. The bill was written by Republican State Senator Glenn Hegar.
SB 1907 would prohibit Texas colleges and universities from adopting or enforcing policies to prevent students with a Texas Concealed Handgun License from storing legal firearms in their locked vehicles on campus parking lots.
"This is a simple matter of fairness. Why should everyone but the student have the right to protect themself as they travel to and from campus?," said Senator Hegar in a press release. "I applaud the schools that already recognize this need and want to remove the unnecessary restriction of Second Amendment rights we unfortunately see at some Texas colleges."
Co-sponsors of the bill include Republican Senators Brian Birdwell, Jane Nelson, and Dan Patrick.
"This legislation protects the second amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners on college campuses, and I am pleased the Senate has taken this step to bolster the ability of CHL holders to protect themselves," said Senator Nelson in a press release.
The bill first passed in the Judicial Committee, with 4 'yea' votes and 1 'nay' vote. The committee voted after hearing testimony from John Woods, a University of Texas student whose girlfriend, Maxine Turner, was killed in the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
"The bill authors cite Virginia Tech but refuse to hear the Virginia Tech survivors, all of whom are opposed to guns in classrooms," Woods said.
The Senate vote was virtually unanimous, with only 4 members voting nay.
The bill will likely pass the House. Senator Hegar claimed in a press release that the bill has 100 affirmative votes in the House and will be signed into law by Governor Rick Perry. If signed, the legislation should take effect on September 1.
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