Guns on Campus

This coming August open carry will be allowed on ACC campuses, but already other Universities have allowed open carry for some time now. This is a big mistake in my opinion and I will tell you the reasons why this decision should be changed immediately. One of the main reasons being that our gun laws are not really laws, they are more small road blocks that all you need to get through are the proper age, time and money. In the State of Texas you must be at least 18 to own a "long-barreled" gun this included rifles and shotguns and other related firearms, you can openly carry these weapons and do not need a license for them. To carry a handgun in Texas you must be, at least 21 years of age, take courses and pay a $140 fee and you will receive a license in 60 days and for you to open carry it must be holstered at all times. There is no waiting period on purchasing a firearm, and if you buy out of state you do not need to register your arms in Texas.

It is far too easy to attain a license and firearm in Texas and that frightens me a student myself. Not simply because of open carry, but more because of concealed carry. You can never tell who has a firearm on them because of this license, which in turn means you can never tell who is going to start a killing spree, who is going through such stressful things that they could snap at any minute. People always forget that anyone can pull a trigger, and that easy task will lead to the deaths of one or more likely multiple individuals. As a student, I want there to be massive reforms towards our gun laws and reforms for open carry on campus grounds.

Our "laws" are not laws if they do so little to protect us and can be bypassed so easily. The open carry on campus does nothing to protect students from other students and others carrying on campus. An example of some smart laws and measures would be for open carry to be the only carry on campus, no concealed carry and for all students to register with on campus police that they have a firearm, to have that firearm unloaded and with a trigger lock on at all times, and that every student must put their arms in a lock box during class time. Have the on campus police and other qualified individuals hold mandatory psychiatric evaluations and training sessions weekly or monthly to ensure proper use and safety on campus. These are measures that would prevent a student or faculty from going on a killing spree on campus and could save thousands of lives. Guns are a tool, but when you put a tool in an untrained and unattended child's hands that tool can lead to massive destruction.

The Bathroom Bill

The Bathroom Bill has been a hot topic in Texas for quite some time now, Recently in an editorial by Alexa Ura, entitled "Committee sends Texas "bathroom bill" to full Senate" she wrote about the recent bills to be passed regarding this topic. In the article, she writes, “the legislation would require transgender individuals to use the multi-stall bathrooms and locker rooms in schools and other government buildings that match their “biological sex,” and it would nix local anti-discrimination laws meant to allow transgender residents to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.” Now I don't believe that this in any way sounds like the problem of sexual discrimination towards the Transgender community will be solved. To me, these "bills" sound awful close to the Jim Crow Laws, and those lasted over 70 years. Those laws did the exact same thing these bills will, separate a group of people from the rest and increase discrimination. She writes that there are far more important issues that our government should be focusing on such as Schools, Veterans need help, our Homeless population increasing, there are so many better issues that need attention, then something like who get to use what bathroom. This will do far more harm, and will only further the misunderstanding of the Transgender community.

- W. E. B. Du Bois reflecting on being black in America in the early twentieth century

"I have always been made sad when I have heard members of any race claiming rights and privileges, or certain badges of distinction, on the ground simply that they were members of this or that race, regardless of their own individual worth or attainments. I have been made to feel sad for such persons because I am conscious of the fact that mere connection with what is known as a superior race will not permanently carry an individual forward unless he has individual worth, and mere connection with what is regarded as an inferior race will not finally hold an individual back if he possesses intrinsic, individual merit."