FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 03/22/2019

CONTACT:
Michael Newbern, Assistant Director of Public Relations, SCC: michael.newbern@concealedcampus.org

TXSCC’s Notes on “The Growing Crisis of Guns on Campus”

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Although America’s campus carry laws have never been connected to an assault, suicide attempt, or
fatality, columnist Matt Valentine writes about “The Growing Crisis of Guns on Campus” in a March 22 column for The
New Republic.

The Texas chapter of Students for Concealed Carry wishes to offer a few notes on Valentine’s anti-campus carry polemic:

1. Texas does NOT regulate dildos more heavily than guns: https://www.ammoland.com/2016/09/comedy-
centrals-coverage-campus-carry-funny-factually-flawed/#axzz5iwQOS0Dx

More info: https://www.ammoland.com/2016/10/politifact-skirts-question-whether-dildos-heavily-regulated-

guns/#axzz5iwppDa1M

2. The list of people claiming that campus carry has worked out fine includes most university administrators:
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/01/campus-carry-one-quiet-year/

3. Arguing that James Madison opposed campus carry is not only misleading; it’s a straw man argument:
https://www.scribd.com/document/319141232/Texas-Students-for-Concealed-Carry-Campus-Carry-Press-
Releases-Op-Eds-Oct-2-2015-Aug-1-2017#page=65

4. Our organization is named Students for Concealed Carry, not Students for Campus Carry, and the cited article
about the formation of SCC is baseless conjecture/conspiracy-theorist nonsense: https://bearingarms.com/tom-
k/2018/04/18/students-concealed-carry-lash-repeated-claims-astroturf/

5. A so-called “deterrent effect” was not one of the generally accepting talking points among supporters of
Texas Senate Bill 11 (the bill that became Texas’ campus carry law): http://concealedcampus.org/2016/05/a-
refresher-on-the-case-for-campus-carry-in-texas/

6. Unless the author of “College Homicide: The Case Against Guns on Campus” can point to a single on-campus
murder in which a lawfully armed license to carry holder was either the perpetrator or the victim, his book serves
no purpose but to reaffirm that affluent areas with low nighttime population density have lower crime rates than
areas with less affluence and/or higher nighttime population density. (TRANSLATION: Yes, college campuses are
typically safer than the surrounding areas, but that has nothing to do with policies prohibiting the licensed,
concealed carry of handguns on campus.)

More info: http://concealedcampus.org/common-arguments/#22

7. The handful of relatively minor accidents that have occurred in states that allow campus carry don't come close to
reaching the level of carnage predicted by opponents of campus carry: http://concealedcampus.org/common-
arguments/#8

8. Because college campuses host relatively few young children, guns in restrooms pose less of a threat on
campus than in most other locations (e.g., movie theaters, shopping malls, churches, state museums,
municipal libraries, and the Texas Capitol) where licensed concealed carry is allowed:
https://www.scribd.com/document/254073403/Locations-Where-Concealed-Carry-is-Prohibited-in-Texas

9. Given that 90%* of suicides occur in the victim's home, that most students old enough (21+) to obtain a license to
carry live off campus**, and that Texas CHL/LTC holders were already allowed to keep handguns in their cars
parked on campus***, how did the passage of Texas’ campus carry law increase the risk of student suicides?

*“Youth and Adolescent Suicide: A Guide for Educators,” Oregon Resiliency Project, University of Oregon, 2003;
“After Suicide: A Ray of Hope for Those Left Behind,” Eleanora Betsy Ross, 2001
 **https://campuscarry.utexas.edu/

***https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.411.htm#411.2032

10. Claims about campus carry’s high financial cost to Texas universities have been disproved:
https://www.scribd.com/document/319141232/Texas-Students-for-Concealed-Carry-Campus-Carry-Press-
Releases-Op-Eds-Oct-2-2015-Aug-1-2017#page=85

Of course, that doesn't mean that opponents of campus carry have stopped parroting these disproved claims:
https://www.ammoland.com/2016/09/gun-free-uts-story-theyre-sticking/#axzz596D6m6RC

11. Statistically, professors have far more reason to fear issuing bad grades to or having heated debates with students
who AREN'T licensed to carry a concealed handgun: https://www.ammoland.com/2016/06/exercise-professors-
afraid-campus-carry/#axzz5iwctz3XY

12. The author of the New Republic column is correct that UT-Austin's campus carry policy for private offices needs to
be amended; he's just wrong about HOW it needs to be amended:
https://www.scribd.com/document/319693804/SCC-Statements-on-the-University-of-Texas-Gun-Free-Offices-
Policy

###

ABOUT STUDENTS FOR CONCEALED CARRY — Students for Concealed Carry (SCC) is a national, non-partisan,
grassroots organization comprising college students, faculty, staff, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of
state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college
campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCC is not affiliated with the NRA or any other
organization. For more information on SCC, visit ConcealedCampus.org or Facebook.com/ConcealedCampus.

RELATED:

"Federal appeals court upholds Texas campus carry law": https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/16/appeals-court-rejects-

texas-campus-carry-lawsuit/

"Student Activists Must Learn to Be Students of the Issues They Address": http://concealedcampus.org/2018/08/student-
activists-must-learn-to-be-students-of-the-issues-they-address/

"Texas’ Campus Carry Law Turns Two": http://concealedcampus.org/2018/07/texas-campus-carry-law-turns-two/

"Texas Legislative Candidate/Former Professor Omits Important Facts": https://www.ammoland.com/2018/07/texas-

legislative-candidate-former-professor-omits-important-facts/#axzz5M150Mn96

"Everytown for Gun Safety Continues to Ignore the Facts": http://concealedcampus.org/2018/05/everytown-for-gun-safety-

continues-to-ignore-the-facts/

"Students For Concealed Carry Lash Out At Repeated Claims Of Astroturf": https://bearingarms.com/tom-
k/2018/04/18/students-concealed-carry-lash-repeated-claims-astroturf/

SCC's Amicus Brief in Glass v. Paxton (U.S. Fifth Circuit): https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/scc-sccf-file-amicus-brief-

u-texas-professors-campus-carry-suit/#axzz5CzmeJ49g

"What ‘Rolling Stone’ Got Wrong About the 'Fight Over Guns on Campus'": http://concealedcampus.org/2017/03/what-
rolling-stone-got-wrong-about-the-fight-over-guns-on-campus/

"Johns Hopkins Report on Campus Carry Is Seriously Flawed": http://concealedcampus.org/2016/11/johns-hopkins-

report-on-campus-carry-is-seriously-flawed/

"A Refresher on the Case for Campus Carry in Texas": http://concealedcampus.org/2016/05/a-refresher-on-the-case-for-

campus-carry-in-texas/
SCC’s Oct. 2, 2015 – Aug. 1, 2017, Texas press releases and op-eds:
https://www.scribd.com/document/319141232/Texas-Students-for-Concealed-Carry-Campus-Carry-Press-Releases-Op-
Eds-Oct-2-2015-Aug-1-2017

SCC's 2015 Texas legislative handout (includes Dec. 9 - May 22, 2015, press releases and op-eds):
https://www.scribd.com/document/255815743/SCC-s-2015-Texas-Legislative-Handout