Clock runs out on gun law
Jamee L Cox
Issue date: 6/11/09 Section: News
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House Bill 1893 and its companion SB 1164 made it out of the Public Safety Committee with a 5 to 3 vote but failed to make it to the House floor before the end of the biennial session.
Rep. Joe Driver (R- Garland) said he is confident the bill would have passed if it had made it to the floor.
"At one time I had 78 of 150 votes that had signed on, and others that assured me they would also vote for it, but had not signed on yet," Driver said.
Driver, who authored bill 1893, said he had some trouble in committee because of the way it was run, but he pushed to have the companion bill, authored by Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R- San Antonio) advanced out of committee.
Wentworth said he introduced the bill because of the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, where, he said, victims were "picked off like sitting ducks."
Supporters of the bill argue that allowing teachers and students to bear arms on campus could prevent another such tragedy.
Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D- Houston) contends that allowing concealed handguns on campus would make a bad situation worse.
"Everyone who is licensed to carry is essentially deputized, but that does not mean they know what to do," Rodriguez said. "Training [for a concealed handgun license] is not sufficient. It makes more sense to invest money for more security and police on campuses."
Driver contends that the training required to obtain a concealed handgun license will enable the police to determine the bad guys from the good guys.
"These issues are dealt with in the training. The bad guys are the ones shooting. Licensed carriers are taught to put their gun down when police arrive. Police are taught to tell everyone to put down their weapons," Driver said.
Dr. Wright Lassiter, chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District, agrees with Rodriguez.
"The District invests heavily in the training of campus security officers and I agree with legislators who believe that this is the best means to keeping our students and faculty safe," Lassiter said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Dallas Movers
posted 6/26/09 @ 9:29 AM CST
The more people that have guns, the more people will use their guns to hurt others. And just because they have a license that doesn't mean they are "good guys. (Continued…)
Dallas Movers
posted 7/16/09 @ 11:43 AM CST
A college campus is definitely not the place for everyone to be carrying a gun. It really would make a bad situation worse.
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