Texas’s campus concealed carry law has gone into effect, allowing students to carry concealed guns on campuses. The students who wish to carry must be aged 21 or over, and must have a handgun permit. Once those requirements are met, the students may take guns into classrooms. Private schools and two-year community colleges are excluded from the ruling.
Texas is now one of only eight states that allow students to carry guns into college buildings. Critics say the new permissions may make some people less likely to want to attend college in the state of Texas, while proponents argue it is a critical right to self defense and upholding the Constitution. Many people on both sides of the gun argument feel that gun-free zones make people vulnerable, because criminals don’t obey “no gun” signs.
Coming into effect on the day of the 50th anniversary of the Texas clock tower shooting, emotions on both sides of the debate ran high as news. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman stood on the 27th floor of the clock tower of the University of Texas in Austin and began shooting students shortly before noon. He killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others before being killed by authorities. The ex-Marine sharpshooter had killed his wife and mother prior to heading to the tower.
WIAT in Alabama reports that Alabama is now debating whether to follow Texas’s lead and allow carrying concealed weapons there as well. A Facebook group called University of South Alabama Students for Concealed Carry shows 546 likes.
