Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Democracy in Action: Handguns on Campus

It appears that the resistance of college professors and students to the proposal to allow students to carry guns on college campuses in Texas is proving to be influential.  The TX legislature has not been able to gather enough votes in the Senate to pass the legislation and the bill may be dropped. This is due to the fact that the majority of people directly affected by this legislation (students/professors/administrators) never wanted to carry guns on campus in the first place.

Excerpts:
Then students and administrators from the state's universities mobilized in opposition, swaying two Democratic lawmakers who had supported the bill. Without them, the bill's sponsor hasn't had enough support to get a vote in the state Senate. Two attempts in the past week have failed, and the measure is now struggling to survive in a state that usually embraces guns and their mythical connection to the old West.

Hundreds of current students turned out for Capitol rallies, saying they didn't want to take a test sitting next to someone who might be carrying a gun.
They got a big boost from the nine-campus University of Texas System when chancellor Francisco Cigarroa wrote a letter to Perry and lawmakers telling them college officials worry guns will lead to more campus violence and suicides.
Two Democrats who had supported the bill, Sen. Eddie Lucio of Brownsville and Sen. Mario Gallegos of Houston, withdrew their support last week.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42560159/ns/us_news-life/

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