SAN ANTONIO – Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) filed a bill on Thursday to force private and public colleges to allow concealed-gun permit holders to carry weapons on their campuses.
Sen. Wentworth told News 4 WOAI that "I don't want to wake up some morning and read in the paper, or listen to the radio, or watch on TV, that 32 Texas college kids were gunned down like sitting ducks."
The bill says Texas’ institutions of higher learning cannot restrict those legally licensed from carrying guns on campus. However, the schools can control how guns are stored in dormitories and other residential facilities. They can also restrict weapons at sporting events if the notice is properly posted according to state law.
The proposed law,
S.B. 1164, also has a companion bill (
HB 1893) filed in the House.
Sen. Wentworth’s office admits that private institutions would be the most vocal in opposing the law, which, if enacted, would go into effect Sept. 1, 2009.
Statistics supplied by Sen. Wentworth say only 5,317 or 4.5 percent of Texans licensed in fiscal year 2008 were age 21-25, the age group that could both be licensed and most likely to be in college.
He says his bill would only apply to seniors, grad students, and faculty. And you must be over 21 and pass a background check plus get 10 hours of training.
