beaucoup ammo
Member
"Students pack heat"
Web Posted: 07/14/2008 12:14 AM CDT
By Janet Elliott
Houston Chronicle
BLANCO — Cameron Schober, a 22-year-old Texas State University student, aimed his semi-automatic pistol at the outline of a man's torso just as a gust of wind blew down the target.
“Everybody hold up,” hollered instructor Mike Cox. As six other shooters lowered their weapons, Schober scrambled to brace the cardboard target at a makeshift range on a deserted Hill Country ranch.
Schober and fellow student Bill Downs were among 13 people who recently completed Cox's shooting proficiency and eight-hour classroom course, prerequisites to obtaining a license to legally carry a concealed handgun in Texas.
But even if the two follow through with fingerprints, notarized forms and $140 checks for Texas Department of Public Safety processing, they won't be able to bring their weapons to campus unless the Legislature changes the law.
Schober and Downs are part of a nationwide movement pushing for the right to carry pistols on college and university campuses in the wake of the April 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech University.
College students are also part of a record wave of Texans applying for concealed gun licenses this year. Applications for first-time licenses and renewals were up 24 percent during the first five months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007.
About 5 percent of the 297,498 active license holders in Texas are under 26. A person must be 21 to apply for one.
Schober said he wants to be able to protect himself from a gunman like the one who killed 32 students at Virginia Tech.
“School's not a safe place anymore,” Schober said. “How horrible would that be to have to sit under a desk and wait for the cops to come?”
Michael Guzman, president of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus at Texas State, said he believes more students would apply for licenses if they could legally carry guns where they spend most of their time.
Guzman, 24, obtained his license a few months after the Virginia Tech shooting. Earlier this year, he organized a concealed handgun class for 15 students on his campus.
The Internet-based student gun-rights group to which Guzman belongs claims 31,000 members nationwide. In Texas, there are chapters at 24 institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. The Texas State chapter has 150 members, Guzman said.
Utah is the only state that specifically allows the carrying of concealed weapons at all of its public colleges. A 2003 Colorado law allowed universities to adopt their own policies, and Colorado State University decided not to ban licensees from carrying weapons into locations other than residence halls, said university spokesman Brad Bohlander.
Now, Texas students in favor of allowing guns on campus are finding a sympathetic ear in House Law Enforcement Chairman Joe Driver, who recently held a hearing on the issue.
In addition to several students and gun lobbyists, the committee heard from Tim Gottleber, a computer information technology professor at North Lake College in the Dallas area. He told legislators that he can evacuate students if there is a fire or tornado. But he can't defend them from a predatory gunman.
“If there is an active shooter on campus, I'm only supposed to sit and watch my students die,” Gottleber said.
Rice University Police Chief Bill Taylor told the panel, however, that the limited amount of training provided to concealed handgun licensees doesn't prepare them to do the job of law enforcement officers.
“I would hate to think we're going to overreact to some very serious events to the point where we now create situations that are much more difficult,” Taylor said.
Driver, R-Garland, said he plans to introduce a bill to remove college campuses from the list of places where guns are banned. Although the issue is a priority of the National Rifle Association, Driver said he doesn't know whether the bill will gain sufficient support.
“There will be some opposition. It's always the same arguments that were presented when we first passed the concealed handgun law: Situations will get inflamed, people will drink,” Driver said, adding that he doesn't believe there have been widespread problems.
Marsha McCartney, president of the North Texas Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said bills to allow concealed handguns on campus have been introduced in 17 states and have failed in 15, including Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Two states, Michigan and Ohio, have legislation pending.
Suicide and college drinking are reasons enough to ban guns from campuses, she said.
“For once, we need to think of our students instead of what the gun lobby wants,” McCartney said. “I do fear it would be passed here after all these other states have sensibly said no.”
Texans won the right to obtain licenses to carry concealed weapons in 1995 after an emotional legislative debate. Then-Gov. George W. Bush signed the bill into law.
Applicants must undergo eight hours of classroom instruction, pass a written test and demonstrate shooting proficiency. Full sets of fingerprints are used for federal and state background checks.
The licenses expire after five years, and a new round of classroom and shooting training is required to renew.
During the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, there were 422 license revocations, with alcohol-related offenses and other misdemeanor crimes the most common reasons.
The DPS was unable to process this year's record number of license applications within the 60 days allowed by law for first-timers and 45 days for renewals. With applicants now waiting 80 to 90 days, DPS has transferred workers from other divisions and hired temporary help to reduce the backlog.
Just as the 1991 killing of 23 people at a Luby's cafeteria in Killeen served as a rallying point for Texas' concealed handgun law, the Virginia Tech violence — the nation's deadliest shooting rampage by a lone gunman — has become a defining event for supporters of expanded gun rights.
Cox, who worked for 21 years in Saudi Arabia as an oil company computer engineer, discounts his $75 class fee to $50 for college students. Many of the students are military veterans, the type of person who could stop a shooter, Cox said.
During last month's class, Cox looked directly at the Texas State students and told them they should not drink any alcohol if they are carrying a gun. They must keep the weapon concealed at all times and should not react to verbal provocations.
“When you're armed, you've got to dial it back,” Cox said.
Escaping a threat should be their first option and pulling their weapon should only be a last resort to save lives. Even in a life-threatening situation, they could be liable for injuring a third party.
The message was well received by college student Downs, 27.
“It's what I wanted to get out of the class,” he said. “A feeling for the gravity of carrying a gun.”
Hopefully, Texas will be joining Utah (great state) in the near furture!
Web Posted: 07/14/2008 12:14 AM CDT
By Janet Elliott
Houston Chronicle
BLANCO — Cameron Schober, a 22-year-old Texas State University student, aimed his semi-automatic pistol at the outline of a man's torso just as a gust of wind blew down the target.
“Everybody hold up,” hollered instructor Mike Cox. As six other shooters lowered their weapons, Schober scrambled to brace the cardboard target at a makeshift range on a deserted Hill Country ranch.
Schober and fellow student Bill Downs were among 13 people who recently completed Cox's shooting proficiency and eight-hour classroom course, prerequisites to obtaining a license to legally carry a concealed handgun in Texas.
But even if the two follow through with fingerprints, notarized forms and $140 checks for Texas Department of Public Safety processing, they won't be able to bring their weapons to campus unless the Legislature changes the law.
Schober and Downs are part of a nationwide movement pushing for the right to carry pistols on college and university campuses in the wake of the April 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech University.
College students are also part of a record wave of Texans applying for concealed gun licenses this year. Applications for first-time licenses and renewals were up 24 percent during the first five months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007.
About 5 percent of the 297,498 active license holders in Texas are under 26. A person must be 21 to apply for one.
Schober said he wants to be able to protect himself from a gunman like the one who killed 32 students at Virginia Tech.
“School's not a safe place anymore,” Schober said. “How horrible would that be to have to sit under a desk and wait for the cops to come?”
Michael Guzman, president of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus at Texas State, said he believes more students would apply for licenses if they could legally carry guns where they spend most of their time.
Guzman, 24, obtained his license a few months after the Virginia Tech shooting. Earlier this year, he organized a concealed handgun class for 15 students on his campus.
The Internet-based student gun-rights group to which Guzman belongs claims 31,000 members nationwide. In Texas, there are chapters at 24 institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. The Texas State chapter has 150 members, Guzman said.
Utah is the only state that specifically allows the carrying of concealed weapons at all of its public colleges. A 2003 Colorado law allowed universities to adopt their own policies, and Colorado State University decided not to ban licensees from carrying weapons into locations other than residence halls, said university spokesman Brad Bohlander.
Now, Texas students in favor of allowing guns on campus are finding a sympathetic ear in House Law Enforcement Chairman Joe Driver, who recently held a hearing on the issue.
In addition to several students and gun lobbyists, the committee heard from Tim Gottleber, a computer information technology professor at North Lake College in the Dallas area. He told legislators that he can evacuate students if there is a fire or tornado. But he can't defend them from a predatory gunman.
“If there is an active shooter on campus, I'm only supposed to sit and watch my students die,” Gottleber said.
Rice University Police Chief Bill Taylor told the panel, however, that the limited amount of training provided to concealed handgun licensees doesn't prepare them to do the job of law enforcement officers.
“I would hate to think we're going to overreact to some very serious events to the point where we now create situations that are much more difficult,” Taylor said.
Driver, R-Garland, said he plans to introduce a bill to remove college campuses from the list of places where guns are banned. Although the issue is a priority of the National Rifle Association, Driver said he doesn't know whether the bill will gain sufficient support.
“There will be some opposition. It's always the same arguments that were presented when we first passed the concealed handgun law: Situations will get inflamed, people will drink,” Driver said, adding that he doesn't believe there have been widespread problems.
Marsha McCartney, president of the North Texas Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said bills to allow concealed handguns on campus have been introduced in 17 states and have failed in 15, including Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Two states, Michigan and Ohio, have legislation pending.
Suicide and college drinking are reasons enough to ban guns from campuses, she said.
“For once, we need to think of our students instead of what the gun lobby wants,” McCartney said. “I do fear it would be passed here after all these other states have sensibly said no.”
Texans won the right to obtain licenses to carry concealed weapons in 1995 after an emotional legislative debate. Then-Gov. George W. Bush signed the bill into law.
Applicants must undergo eight hours of classroom instruction, pass a written test and demonstrate shooting proficiency. Full sets of fingerprints are used for federal and state background checks.
The licenses expire after five years, and a new round of classroom and shooting training is required to renew.
During the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, there were 422 license revocations, with alcohol-related offenses and other misdemeanor crimes the most common reasons.
The DPS was unable to process this year's record number of license applications within the 60 days allowed by law for first-timers and 45 days for renewals. With applicants now waiting 80 to 90 days, DPS has transferred workers from other divisions and hired temporary help to reduce the backlog.
Just as the 1991 killing of 23 people at a Luby's cafeteria in Killeen served as a rallying point for Texas' concealed handgun law, the Virginia Tech violence — the nation's deadliest shooting rampage by a lone gunman — has become a defining event for supporters of expanded gun rights.
Cox, who worked for 21 years in Saudi Arabia as an oil company computer engineer, discounts his $75 class fee to $50 for college students. Many of the students are military veterans, the type of person who could stop a shooter, Cox said.
During last month's class, Cox looked directly at the Texas State students and told them they should not drink any alcohol if they are carrying a gun. They must keep the weapon concealed at all times and should not react to verbal provocations.
“When you're armed, you've got to dial it back,” Cox said.
Escaping a threat should be their first option and pulling their weapon should only be a last resort to save lives. Even in a life-threatening situation, they could be liable for injuring a third party.
The message was well received by college student Downs, 27.
“It's what I wanted to get out of the class,” he said. “A feeling for the gravity of carrying a gun.”
Hopefully, Texas will be joining Utah (great state) in the near furture!
