This is a report from Texas Monthly’s intern, Abby Rapoport, on the Public Safety committee hearing of March 30 on Joe Driver’s bill allowing guns on campus.
It was four hours into the meeting before Public Safety made it to the issue that had brought crowds. Joe Driver presented HB 1893 which would allow concealed handguns on public and private college campuses. In his introduction, Driver argued that the bill did not affect most students, since the bill applies only to those over 21 and still allows colleges to forbid firearms in dorms. “The idea that the act will result in any increase in violence is simply incorrect,” he said.
As witnesses testified, Phil King took the middle ground and drew on his own experiences, having been a police officer while in college. He concerned himself with whether or not students should have handguns, although he wanted to make sure everyone could have a gun in a car. “Faculty who have a long walk [keeping a gun] in a drawer or a purse—I would be willing to acknowledge the need for that,” he said. When questions arose—specifically about how the law would affect teachers who were also taking classes—King, along with Merritt, insisted on the DPS witness calling his office for more information.
Lon Burnam and Joe Driver, coming from opposite ideological sides, worked together in prolonging the testimony. Burnam took an impressively sanctimonious route in much of his questioning. Best example: In questioning the president of La Tourneau University, he asked the president if the school taught the Ten Commandments. The poor witness said yes only to have Burnam continue: “And is one of them ‘Thou shalt not kill’? …. And what is a gun for?” Many seemed to cringe that the debate on CHLs on campuses might turn into a debate on guns in general, when there were still many left to testify.
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Tagged: college campuses, guns, hb 1893, joe driver, phil king, texas
