Campus carry took effect at universities in the Greater Houston area and across Texas on Aug. 1, permitting concealed carrying of handguns on college campuses. The law, known as Senate Bill 11, requires public institutions to allow guns on parts of their campuses with exceptions.
Open carry—House Bill 910—allows license holders to openly carry holstered handguns in public spaces and is still prohibited at all colleges.
Private institutions can opt out of campus carry. In Houston, Rice University, Houston Baptist University and the University of St. Thomas have decided to opt out.
The University of Houston system’s four presidents signed weapons policies for their respective locations at the main, downtown, Clear Lake and Victoria campuses Aug. 1, said Shawn Lindsey, director of media relations and digital programming at UH.
LSCS Chief of Police Paul Willingham said the college is using town hall meetings to gather information from the community.
“Some people, I think just because they hear the word gun they think it’s going to be a shootout,” Willingham said. “Nobody really anticipates that.”
A shooting occurred at the LSCS-North Harris campus on Jan. 22, 2013, injuring three people, according to the LSCS website.
SB 11 will take effect Aug. 1, 2017 for community colleges, giving those colleges an additional year to implement campus carry. In the meantime, the Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems are watching how four-year institutions’ policies are received before crafting their own.
“At this point in time the [review] committee has basically been soliciting terms and ideas,” HCC Chief of Police Greg Cunningham said.
LSCS Media Relations Manager Bill Van Rysdam said the college is in the process of determining its campus carry policy.
In a statement posted on the college website, LSCS Chancellor Steve Head said college administration and the board of trustees will consider policy recommendations from a special committee led by Willingham and Rand Key, CEO of LSCS at University Park. [totalpoll id="182234"]
Van Rysdam said the committee will begin meeting in early fall, and a decision on LSCS policy will be made in time for 2017 registration.
Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said his precinct sometimes coordinates public safety efforts with LSCS police.
“Our officers were given a general reminder of the new law and its requirements,” Herman said.
Herman said he did not anticipate any community safety concerns as a result of the new law but said police will need to exercise judgment in the event of a situation where guns are involved.
“Should situations arise where police are called, there could be confusion on who is the good guy or the bad guy,” Herman said. “It will be very important for police to quickly evaluate and determine this.”
