TexasCHLforum.com

flintknapper wrote:

UpTheIrons wrote:

RHenriksen wrote:Coming in 2013:

"The Student Protection Act"

No! No! No! We CANNOT frame the discussion this way. I liked the term last night when I read this, but woke up this morning with a changed mind. Anything that is firearm related and has the word "student" in it will be turned against us.

Remember, the whole argument was framed by the antis thusly: "They want to GIVE STUDENTS GUNS!"

It mattered not how we politely and gently corrected their misunderstandings, the antis wailing about the NRA handing out "assault weapons" (sic) to drunk college freshmen on the way to a kegger in a frat house was what people heard - not the correct explanation of the law.

Sure, some heard it, but the damage was done. The media picked up the trope and ran with it. It is going to take someone smarter than me to come up with a semantic title that is going to be plain vanilla enough, yet get the point across correctly.

Thank you!

I have "cringed" all along at the use of the terms "Campus Carry/Student"... and the notion that it would allow STUDENT'S to carry a firearm. When you do this, you automatically set yourself up for an explanation.

The bill was about allowing a PERSON who ALREADY has a CHL to extend that ability to protect themselves to the campus. The idea that "students" in general would be allowed to carry was erroneously fostered and spread by the anti's and media. They did so gleefully..and with great effect.

Put plainly, we shot ourselves in the foot...from the get-go.

The "emotion/fear" card WILL be played again....when a bill is introduced next session, so PLEASE.........!!!!!, lets start approaching this in a smarter fashion.

I’m very thankful to all that worked so hard on this. Let’s do figure out the way to *effectively* turn the tide on college campuses. My daughter is a senior at UNT in Denton, and is very disappointed with the outcome of this so far. My work on this issue began when she asked me, What good does my gun do me locked in the car and I’m looking at a ten minute walk to and from my class?


I think the title “Campus Carry” is misleading to the general public. Certainly the media’s “Guns on Campus” title is misleading. Both strike the fear in the hearts of the general public. Every person I talked to about this had no idea that guns on campus are already legal by CHL holders. Once processed in their minds it has been legal for years with no issues, and the real issue is just extending the law to going into buildings, their response is, “Well, what’s the problem then? Why is it such a big deal to go to class the same way you walk around campus?” I really feel that if the general public just knew it has been legal for CHL’S already to carry on campus, and have been for years, there would not be so much opposition from students and faculty. Maybe it should be called “Extended Campus Carry” or something. I don’t know the answer, but it just seems the title is where the fear starts with the general public and gives the media their fear factor ratings. Just my 2 bits.