Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Grandbury, said today’s mass stabbing in Houston could have been prevented if students and faculty were allowed to carry guns.
Birdwell has authored a bill in the Senate that would allow students and faculty that possess a concealed handgun license to carry their weapons onto a school campus.
He said criminals like the person who went from room to room stabbing students on a Houston community college campus pick universities for a reason.
"Could those have been prevented by somebody having the ability to defend themselves or defend the individuals that had been stabbed, absolutely possible. With the prohibition of those law-abiding citizens being told you can’t defend yourself on campus it is very clear what will happen - what happened today," Birdwell said.
Birdwell said society invites criminals to perpetrate these type of crimes because the state has precluded CHL holders from bringing their gun onto campus to defend themselves or someone else.
"Simply because they know the ability to stop them, prevent or defend someone else who is being attacked, that capability simply isn’t there, and ultimately when we punish the law-abiding citizens by placing laws on them, who are we really protecting?" Birdwell said.
Birdwell said lawmakers need to send a clear message that the state trust gun owners rather than worrying about the decorum of the higher education campus.
Both the Senate and House version of the bill are still pending in committee.
