UT Austin Student Government Opposition to Campus Carry

A.R. 30
In Opposition to Campus Carry at The University of Texas at Austin

Authors: Mr. Tanner Long (Representative, College of Liberal Arts), Mr. Jamie Nalley (Chair, Student Affairs Committee), Mr. Taral Patel (Representative, University Wide), Mr. John Brown (Director, State Relations Agency), Mr. Kori Rady (President, Student Body) and Nicole Kruijs (Abbott, Friar Society)

Sponsors: Mr. Austin Ferguson (Representative, College of Fine Arts), Mr. Tanner Long (Representative, College of Liberal Arts), Mr. Jamie Nalley (Chair, Student Affairs Committee) Mr. Taral Patel (Representative, University Wide) and Mr. Santiago Rosales (Representative, First Year)

WHEREAS, Student Government serves as the official voice of students at the University of Texas at Austin; and,

WHEREAS, This resolution represents the voice of students at The University of Texas at Austin, but it does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The University of Texas at Austin or The University of Texas System; and,

WHEREAS, Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college-aged individuals; and,

WHEREAS, “Over half of college students reported some form of suicidal thinking in their lives” and 18% of undergraduates and 15% of graduate students have seriously considered attempting suicide; and,

WHEREAS,  “Findings also suggest that the presence of a gun in the home increases the chance that a homicide or suicide in the home will be committed with a firearm rather than by using other means”; and,

WHEREAS, In the event of a campus shooting, authorities might have trouble distinguishing between those with a drawn weapon acting in self-defense and the bad actor with a drawn weapon acting with malicious intent5; and,

WHEREAS, University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven, Admiral and ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command in the United States Navy, has stated, “I feel the presence of concealed weapons will make a campus a less-safe environment”; and,

WHEREAS, Chancellor McRaven further states “there is great concern that the presence of handguns, even if limited to licensed individuals age 21 or older, will lead to an increase in both accidental shootings and self-inflicted wounds”; and therefore,

WHEREAS, Former University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa has stated, “parents, students, faculty, staff, administrators and institutional law enforcement officers have all expressed concerns that that the presence of concealed handguns on our campuses will make the campus environment less safe”; and therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, The University of Texas at Austin Student Government opposes any actions pursued by the legislature to legally allow non law enforcement officials the ability to possess concealed handguns on our campus; and therefore,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Campus carry would generate several new issues for The University of Texas at Austin Police Department such as having to deal with handgun thefts on campus, the potential increase in handgun-related deaths and the lack of law enforcement training of students potentially acting in self-defense with a firearm in the event of a campus shooting; and therefore,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The potential issues mentioned above could be avoided by continuing to outlaw concealed handguns on college campuses; and therefore,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Mr. William McRaven, Chancellor of The University of Texas System; Mr. Paul L. Foster, Chairman of The University of Texas System Board of Regents; Mr. William Powers, President of The University of Texas at Austin; Mr. Greg Abbott, Governor of the State of Texas; Mr. Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Texas; Mr. Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives; Mr. Kirk Watson, Texas State Senator for District 14; Mrs. Joan Huffman, Chair of the Senate Committee on State Affairs and Mr. Elliott Naishtat, Texas State Representative for District 49.

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