The Texas chapter of Students for Concealed Carry is throwing its support behind Texas House Bill 631, a bill “relating to a public awareness campaign on firearm safety and suicide prevention.”
This bill by Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) would direct the Texas Department of Public Safety to design and implement a public awareness campaign focused on suicide prevention, the safe handling and storage of firearms, and prevention of firearm accidents involving children. The program would be funded by license to carry fees, matching funds, and private donations.
Because this initiative would address issues that are of paramount concern to parties on both sides of the campus carry debate, Texas SCC has concluded that HB 631 would further the organization’s goal of ensuring that vetted, licensed adults are able to safely and legally defend themselves on college campuses. Furthermore, the directors of Texas SCC believe that the bill’s fiscally responsible funding model adequately addresses any concerns the organization’s members might have about supporting a public awareness campaign.
SCC Southwest Regional Director Brian Bensimon, the ranking director in SCC’s Texas chapter, commented, “Too often, gun-control activists mistake gun-control measures for gun-safety measures, and gun-rights activists mistake gun-safety measures for gun-control measures. From our standpoint, this is a genuine gun-safety measure that would only make campus carry safer and make the public more comfortable with licensed concealed carry in general. We see HB 631 as a win for everyone involved.”
ABOUT STUDENTS FOR CONCEALED CARRY
Students for Concealed Carry (SCC) is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprising college students, faculty, staff, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCC is not affiliated with the NRA or any other organization. For more information on SCC, visit ConcealedCampus.org or Facebook.com/ConcealedCampus. For more information on the debate over campus carry in Texas, visit WhyCampusCarry.com or tweet @CampusCarry.