“LETS PUT GUNS IN THE HANDS OF STUDENTS!”-SENATE BILL 11

INTRODUCING SENATE BILL 11 According to the Texas legislature online, senate bill 11 justifies the use of concealed handguns on any college campus with the exception of private institutions having the option to allow or not allow them on their campus, at sponsored events, or in owned vehicles paid for by the school (birdwell, 2015). Google images: Senate Bill 11

SENATE BILL 11 IS AT YOUR DISCRETION The new law allowing students and faculty members the ability to carry a concealed handgun on campus grounds is not exactly “safe” at this time. Such reasons regarding safety consist of: Proportion between those eligible for CHL & those that are not Guns: deadly weapons Insufficient classroom layouts Disrupts learning environments Anyone can have access Not able to opt out Elementary school on premises

BACKGROUND INFO ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CHL: IS A LEGAL RESIDENT OF THIS STATE FOR THE SIX MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THE DATE OF APPLICATION IS AT LEAST 21 YEARS OF AGE (MILITARY YEARS OF AGE NOW ELIGIBLE TEXAS CHL LAW CHANGE) HAS NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF A FELONY IS NOT CURRENTLY CHARGED WITH THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY, CLASS A OR CLASS B MISDEMEANOR, OR EQUIVALENT OFFENSE, OR AN OFFENSE UNDER SEC OF THE PENAL CODE (DISORDERLY CONDUCT) OR EQUIVALENT OFFENSE IS NOT A FUGITIVE FROM JUSTICE FOR A FELONY, CLASS A OR CLASS B MISDEMEANOR, OR EQUIVALENT OFFENSE NOT CHEMICALLY DEPENDENT

NON-PROPORTIONAL RATIO BETWEEN THOSE ELIGIBLE AND THOSE NOT. 21 YEARS OLD ORONLY. The percentage of students enrolling in college in the fall immediately following high school completion was 65.9 percent in 2013, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (2013).

Google Images: concealed carry on college campus political cartoon

GUNS ARE DEADLY? Unfortunately, yes. The use of guns would result in the death of someone else whether on purpose or on accident. Cases of guns going off Currently at the Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, stated under Article III of the Student Code of Conduct, “Prohibited weapons include, but are not limited to, unauthorized firearms and fireworks, pellet guns, bb guns, airsoft guns, tasers, stun guns, slingshots, martial arts devices, illegal knifes and clubs ( ). No way of self protection

INSUFFICIENT CLASSROOM LAYOUTS MAJOR CONCERN ISSUE: TYPICALLY ONLY 1 ENTRANCE/EXIT IN SMALL CLASSROOMS TELEPHONE IN CASE OF EMERGENCY IS NOT CONVENIENT TO AUTHORITIES Google images: Unsafe Classroom

KEEP THE PEACE Allowing concealed carry on campus will disrupt the safe learning environment we now have. The author of school violence pulls a report from the nssc (2005) stating that 103 cases that includes a student killing someone else on school property from 1992 to 2004, totaling 8.58 occurrences per year which is very small keeping in mind that there are 119,000 schools in the united states. (Cornell, 2006; U.S. Department of education, 2002). Despite highly popularized shootings, mainly shown through media, higher institutions remain safe gun-free zones.

ANYONE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO A GUN STUDENTS FOR GUN FREE SCHOOLS STATES “A RECENT STUDY FOUND THAT THE NICS DATABASE IS ‘DEEPLY FLAWED’ AND MISSING MILLIONS OF DISQUALIFYING RECORDS” (2013). THE ORGANIZATION INCLUDES THAT NINE OUT OF TEN MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS THAT WOULD NOT ALLOW SOMEONE TO PURCHASE A GUN IS NOT COUNTED IN THE CURRENT DATABASE AS WELL AS ONE-FOURTH OF FELONY CONVICTIONS (2013). -NOTIONS THE LACK OF GUN REGULATIONS ACCESS TO THE BLACK MARKET -EITHER UNDER 21 OR CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

NO OPTION TO OPTION OUT SENATE BILL 11 MAKES IT CLEAR THAT PUBLIC COLLEGE CAMPUSES DO NOT HAVE THE OPTION TO OPT OUT OF ALLOWING CONCEALED CARRY ON CAMPUS ONLY PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES HAVE THE ABILITY TO OPT OUT OF ALLOWING CONCEALED CARRY ON CAMPUS Google Images: Senate Bill 11

KIDS ON CAMPUS Early Childhood Development Center CNN reporter Phil Gast’s states that the school district reported, “A loaded handgun fell out of a student's pocket onto the lunchroom floor and discharged Tuesday, wounding him and two other kindergartners in a Houston elementary school” (Gast, 2011). Google Images: Feel unsafe in college

A SAFER CAMPUS  Allow the use of other weapons, not as deadly.  More Campus Police Officers on duty: If a shooting took place and officers arrived immediately while everyone involved had their guns out, nobody would know who the suspect is The Virginia Tech review panel stated that “If numerous people had been rushing around with handguns outside Norris Hall on the morning of April 16, 2007, the possibility of accidental or mistaken shootings would have increased significantly”(2007).

SOURCES Arrigo, B. A., & Acheson, A. (2016). Concealed Carry Bans and the American College Campus: A law, social sciences, and policy perspective. Contemporary justice review,19(1), Retrieved february 23, 2016, fromHTTP:// BIRDWELL. (2015). SENATE BILL 11. RETRIEVED MARCH 21, 2016, FROM Virginia Tech Review Panel. (2007, April 16) Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech. Report of the Review Panel. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from (image) Retrieved from (image) Retrieved from (image) Retrieved from C&dpr=0.9#imgrc=md1hhQhOTZ8iM%3A C&dpr=0.9#imgrc=md1hhQhOTZ (Image) Retrieved from

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