The College Fix

Texas law allows concealed carry at public universities, but private institutions are exempt

A conservative student group at Southern Methodist University is petitioning for concealed carry rights on campus, expressing hope the institution’s new president will be amenable to the change.

Preston Patten, president of the Turning Point USA chapter at SMU, told The College Fix the gun rights campaign is focused on public safety.

“Being a veteran and former Army Ranger, I have a heart for public safety and feel as though I can evaluate potential areas for problems to arise,” he said via text. “One of these areas was the fact that SMU is a ‘weapons free zone.’”

Texas law allows students to carry handguns on public university campuses if they are at least 21 and have a concealed carry permit, but the law does not apply to private universities like Southern Methodist University, according to an article from the Texas Tribune.

Patten said the Turning Point chapter launched its concealed carry campaign in the fall, right before learning that the university’s former president was stepping down.

In November through an official declaration letter, the TPUSA chapter leaders made contact with the Office of the President for the first time since 2015, he said.

“Following this we received the news our current President will be stepping down… This put a pause on our initiative,” Patten told The Fix.

Now, the group is planning to make contact with the new president, Jay Hartzell, who started the position on Jan. 7.

Patten said he is “hopeful” that Hartzell will work with the Turning Point USA chapter.

“Given his past position was at the University of [Texas at Austin], a place that did allow campus carry … He is very familiar with the policy and how it can be implemented safely and efficiently on campus,” he told The Fix. 

“We are currently in the process of drafting a new declaration letter in hopes of the new administration being open to working with us,” he said.

Neither the university media relations team nor the president’s office responded to The Fix’s emails and a phone message requesting comment on the students’ proposal over the past two weeks.

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Meanwhile, the TPUSA chapter already created a petition to support campus carry.

“The SMU administration should amend the school’s weapons policy to allow individuals the same right to carry firearms on campus that they would otherwise have off campus,” according to the petition, which is linked to on its Instagram page.

“Adults who choose to be a part of the college community should be trusted with the same rights to possess firearms, as well as pepper spray, tasers, and other means of self defense as they would if they were not on campus,” it states.

Patten said the club is “in the process of petitioning on campus,” which has been “well received.”

“I have personally met with multiple professors, faculty, and staff who are on board to back a policy change,” he told The Fix.

Patten said, “Our group is prepared to utilize donors, phone banking, and even protesting on campus in order to spur the initiative along.”

To aid their efforts, the group hosted Dr. Ben Carson, a conservative physician and former U.S. Secretary of Housing, at an event discussing the campus carry initiative on Oct. 15. It also a sponsored gun range day on Nov. 11 to “shatter the stigma around firearms,” according to a post on its Instagram page.

The TPUSA chapter also will be hosting Alex Stein, host of Prime Time with Alex Stein on BlazeTV, for a similar event on Feb. 27.

Patten said the group’s main concern is the safety of SMU’s students.

“Our main reasoning is students’ safety, as they see fit, within the confines of the law,” Patten said. “Of course that includes a potential active shooter scenario, but it also includes isolated acts of violence, sexual assault prevention, self defense, etc.”

The Fix also emailed Students for Concealed Carry, an organization that campaigns for concealed carry rights on college campuses, for comment, but did not receive a reply.

MORE: Professors no longer want to talk about their claims that legally armed students pose a danger

IMAGE: SMU Turning Point USA/Instagram

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