Campus Carry at UNT

[C-dub]

Thank you very much for the report TexasJohnBoy.

I am a UNT alum and am curious which labs you think would become off limits. If you're talking about the science labs then that is very disappointing. Students might have a lab between other classes or at the end of their day that effectively means they cannot carry anywhere the entire day because it will be unreasonable to return it to your vehicle and then retrieve it afterwards.

I'm really not sure specifically. There wasn't much talk about specific chem/bio/etc labs, just that "there's chemicals there, they might go boom" kind of talk. I agree that it would be disappointing if random labs around campus get posted, but the chair of the task force was adamant that UNT was going to comply with the law -- and that meant that there would be no rules that 'effectively nullify the law.' I'm almost sure that the daycare and tams dorms will get posted. Someone had the thought that any designated testing centers should get posted too, so that cheaters aren't carry weapons into the testing room...

That's sad and pretty funny that they think those chemicals couldn't go boom without the aid of a gunshot. And that bullets make things blow up like in the movies. I hope they are committed to being reasonable about all this. I wonder what everyone will say when, after all this goes into effect, there is a shooting in a place on campus that prohibited concealed handguns and avoided the other places where they were allowed.

[n5wd]

The Denton Record-Chronicle online edition has a couple of afticles detailing the recent town meeting on the UNT campus regarding campus carry:

UNT Staff focuses on logistics of campus carry 10/14/15 11:38pm
http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/loca ... -carry.ece

UNT hears input on gun-free sections 10/13/15 11:30pm
http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/loca ... ctions.ece

I've been exchanging some emails with the writer, Jenna Duncan, and have invited her over here to get more information about the CHL laws, customs, and practices, etc. She seems to be quite interested in our common interest, and she suggested that getting her own CHL license is a soon-to-be step. Please make her welcome, here, folks.

BTW, I'm also a UNT alumni (Emerg Mgmt & Disaster Planning '93) and quite interested in how UNT implements SB11.

[TexasJohnBoy]

Absolutely! come on down Jenna! I've been very happy so far with the overall attitude and discussion in these town halls, and I hope that other campuses are having the same kind of atmosphere. I'm taking this chance myself to talk to people I work with in a civil way on why this isn't something to be worried about. I've had several good discussions so far that have stayed calm and logical. I hope that this is a chance for some people who have been on the fence to have some of our stats shown to them in these town halls, and say "wow, this group of people that have licenses really aren't the ones to be worried about, at all..."

I've been to both town halls so far -- and I agree that the Staff town hall was much more calm. Every question and discussion point was more about how things were going to be handled administratively. There wasn't much outright for or against talk, although there were 2 or 3 CHL holders who stood up and made statements reinforcing the stats that were shown at the beginning of the meeting.

There's another tomorrow at a satellite campus in Denton, which I am not sure if I will make. I might have to watch that one online.

[jb2012]

Just to throw in a little bit of information about other schools, I go to Texas State and there hasn't been a whole lot of movement on the subject which worries me. I have had two of my teachers say they were against campus carry, one that actually shocked me pretty bad and one that is a philosophy teacher and I'm sure you know the drill. We received an email earlier this semester with a poll on which buildings students thought should be fun free zones, but I have not heard any more information after that. I'm worried about what might be going on behind closed doors.

[TexasJohnBoy]

Definitely keep an eye on it. I would make phone calls to my reps if it turns out that it's going on behind closed doors. I'm not sure what recourse there is for that kind of action taking place, but it's something that I would chase down, since that would go against the letter and the spirit of the law.