Texas allows students to carry guns to school

According to a new law in the state of Texas (USA), public universities in this state will have to allow students to carry guns to school, not applicable to private schools.

Visitors look at guns at an exhibition organized by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Kentucky on May 21 - Illustration photo: Reuters.

Going into effect in the state of Texas on August 1, 2016, the "Campus Carry" Law was introduced to prevent future mass shootings. Under this law, students will be allowed to carry weapons to school for self-defense.

Backed by US Republican lawmakers, the new law allows students to carry guns in more places on public universities, but these schools will be able to choose which areas on campus are allowed to carry guns.

The controversial decision comes on the 50th anniversary of the horrific shooting at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). In 1996, a shooting there claimed 14 lives when Navy-trained sniper Charles Whitman opened fire on passersby from atop UT’s iconic tower. The attack was the first mass shooting in the United States to be broadcast live on national television.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, officials explained the coincidence as a coincidence and the main motivation for the decision was to enforce the "Campus Carry" law before the new school year began. The law was introduced just two days after a gunman killed one person and injured three others on the streets of Austin.

Texas became the eighth state in the US to allow guns on college campuses, joining seven other states that have implemented such laws, including Oregon, Colorado and Wisconsin. However, eighteen other states in the US still prohibit carrying guns on campus.

Many survivors of the UT shooting nearly a century ago see the new law as a desperate solution that could spark more killings.

Critics of the law include three UT professors who sued the state of Texas, arguing that their free speech rights could be violated if students were armed with guns, creating a climate of fear on campuses and stifling free expression.

Seema Yasmin, a lecturer at a public university in Dallas, wrote in the Dallas Morning News: "I'm not afraid of guns. I'm afraid of a combination of issues: stress around final exams, undiagnosed mental illness, and the ability to bring guns into university buildings."

Supporters of the law, however, argue that allowing concealed weapons on campuses keeps students and teachers safe because any potential gun attack can be quickly stopped by armed citizens.

At the same time, UT plans to unveil a stone monument to commemorate the victims who died 50 years ago. UT has been criticized for not knowing how to respond promptly after the shooting occurred.

Only time will tell whether lessons have been learned from the 1996 massacre or whether these new gun laws will lead to new victims in America's current gun crisis.

According to VOV