AUSTIN — Senator Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, today filed a bill that would give persons who are licensed by the state to carry a concealed handgun the right to do so on a college campus.

Currently, concealed handguns are not allowed on Texas college and university campuses, leaving Texas students, professors and other university employees defenseless and vulnerable to attacks by armed individuals.

"In an effort to prevent senseless tragedies in Texas like those which occurred on college campuses in Virginia and Illinois, I filed S.B. 1164," said Senator Wentworth. "Senate Bill 1164 will allow persons who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon to do so on college campuses in Texas.

"I have no desire to wake up one morning and read in the newspaper, or hear on the radio, or watch on television a news report that 32 Texas college students were gunned down like sitting ducks by some deranged gunman, as happened at Virginia Tech, due to a state law in Texas that makes college kids defenseless against this type of random violence which results in needless tragedy," Wentworth said.

"Because most college students are 18, 19 or 20 years old, and because only Texans who are 21 years of age or older may be licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Texas, very few college students would be eligible to carry a weapon on campus. Texans licensed to carry have been trained and have received a thorough background check before being allowed to carry a concealed handgun. Only honorably discharged or active duty military may be licensed to carry a handgun without regard to age," said Wentworth.

Since Senator Wentworth announced his intention to file a bill that would allow persons who are licensed to carry a handgun to do so on a college campus, 10 of the 31 Texas state senators have signed on as co-authors: Senators Robert Deuell, Kevin Eltife, Craig Estes, Troy Fraser, Chris Harris, Glenn Hegar, Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, Eddie Lucio, Dan Patrick and Tommy Williams.

Representative Joe Driver has filed House Bill 1893 in the Texas House of Representatives, which is identical to SB 1164, and nearly one-third of the House has indicated to Rep. Driver that they support the bill.

"Each time the Texas Legislature considers any concealed handgun bill, opponents claim that the bill’s passage will return Texas to the wild, wild west," said Wentworth. "Although sincere, their concerns have not proven to be correct. Texans licensed to carry concealed handguns are very law-abiding. Out of 73,090 licenses issued in fiscal year 2008, only 348 were revoked for any reason.

In addition, only 5,317 or 4.5 percent of Texans licensed in fiscal year 2008 were age 21-25, the age group who could both be licensed and most likely to be in college. If you factor in the number of licensees who are not in college along with the age requirement of 21 years, as well as the number of university and college campuses in Texas, it is clear that our state’s institutions of higher education would not be filled with gun-toting students," Wentworth concluded. "In fact, they would be able to protect themselves from the murderous acts of people who are mentally deranged."