The Texas A&M University System proposed rules Wednesday that would allow students, employees and others with handgun licenses to carry concealed weapons into classrooms, residence halls and other facilities, with some exceptions, starting Aug. 1, when a contentious state law takes effect.
“No rule proposed by any Texas A&M System member prohibits a licensed holder from carrying a concealed handgun in classrooms or residential facilities owned and operated, or leased and operated, by the institution,” says a summary of the proposed rules put out by Texas A&M.
By contrast, the University of Texas at Austin — where the “open carry” law has provoked debate and protests — guns are being banned for the most part in on-campus residence halls, under rules proposed by UT President Gregory L. Fenves.
I tend to think that both sides in the gun control debate tend to engage in hysterical hyperbole most of the time, but it’s really an unfortunate coincidence (at least I hope it’s coincidence) that the campus carry law enacted during the last session of the legislature will go into effect on the 50th anniversary of the Charles Whitman massacre at UT.