CollegesPrepareforStartofCampusCarry_VideoTranscript.docx

Colleges Prepare for Start of Campus Carry

North Texas colleges and universities are preparing for the return of students to school and some of them will be packing more than books.

Kids are going back to college and for some they are packing more than just books. New campus carry law starts next week on August 1. We have a report from Arlington with how one campus is regulating where gun owners can carry. Tell us more.

Reporter: Well, all the campuses have to the same thing. They have to put up signs telling people where they can and can’t carry firearms and other campuses are doing things differently. At UTA, all their guidelines are online and all of this is trying to balance student rights and fears. I’m going to learn not to expect somebody to come and shoot you.

Campus carry is divisive among families. This UNT senior says, “It just scares you coming to school. Why would you want to know that the person sitting next to you has a gun?” Stephanie’s brother is about to start college. “For me, like, if I had a gun right now and I came here to UNT, like, that would make me feel safe because what if there was a shooting? I could probably do something about it.”

Reporter: State schools have struggled to make both sides comfortable as Monday’s deadline to start campus carry approaches. New signs on arenas, theaters, and stadiums restrict where guns are allowed. UNT restricts carriers living on campus to a single dormitory building with no roommates and a gun lock box provided in the room.

James Abbott goes to UT Austin where his brother will attend. “I have been in turmoil over it. It’s been on my mind as much as anything else. They send out emails all the time from the administration.”

Reporter: Campus carry hasn’t factored at all into his brother’s decision to attend UNT. It’s not something that he has brought up. Administrators say the reality is they don’t expect too many gun carriers on campus. The reasons? You have to be over 21 to get your license in the first place and there’s only a small percentage of Texans who actually have concealed carry licenses.

CBS 11 News