Campus Carry Law Opinions around Campus

By REBECCA MENDOZA

SAN MARCOS, Tx- Faculty and Students at Texas State University spoke up about their concerns and issues with the new campus carry law coming into effect on Aug. 1, 2016.

On June 1, 2015, Gov. Greg Abbott signed the “Campus Carry” law which allows license holders to carry a concealed handgun throughout university campuses in Texas starting Aug. 1, 2016. Students and faculty expressed their support and issues consisting of a wide variety of reasons; strangers on campus, second amendment and even the emotional state of students carrying handguns.

Alex Molina
Photo by Logan Martin

Alex Molina, a student at the Texas State, expressed his disapproval of the new law by saying that the university is a place for learning and does not welcome guns unlike shooting rings do. Molina said he doesn’t know the mindset of a student carrying a gun or if someone carrying a gun is even a student.

“Anyone could put a backpack on, come to campus and appear as a student,” Molina said. “I can't tell who is a student and who is not”

Heather C. Galloway

Photo by Ron Silva

Another opinion opposing the campus carry law comes from a philosophy professor at Texas State, Bob Fischer. Fischer’s main concern is the impact the passing of the law will have on classroom discussions. He said that the presence of arms might change the ability of having open discussion about uncomfortable topics. Similar to Fischer’s concerns are those of Heather C. Galloway, dean of the Honors College.

“My biggest concern is that it might change how we interact with students and how we treat the students,” Galloway said

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However, there are other students who think that open carry on campus is not only our right, but it will also benefit the safety of the school. When asked why he supported campus carry, Arte Vega, a computer science major at Texas State, said he supports it because of the second amendment in the constitution; the right to bear arms. Kristen Courtney, a freshman at Texas State, said that she doesn’t necessarily feel safer because of the way people can react to anger but was also in favor of the law.

Kristen Courtney
Photo by Rebecca Mendoza

“In a way I kinda support it because if a school shooter were to come by it would be a lot faster for a student to react than have somebody having to come all the way over here and react,” Courtney said.

Rachel Brownlee
Photo by Dylan Anguiano

 “College is very stressful and on one hand students are able to explore new ways to be in a relationship with other people, new freedom, and power over their own life,” Rachel Brownlee, a Texas State Graduate Student, said. ”They’re in this stressful situation that can make people do crazy things.”