When committing to UT Austin this fall, I first found it hard to believe that students at only 18 years old can carry firearms on campus. Knowing my generation, I can attest that we are all vulnerable to stress, depression, alcohol, drugs, and many other health concerns. Despite my feelings that students shouldn’t have guns, I knew how relaxed gun laws were in Texas and wasn’t sure what I could do to reform campus carry (permitting concealed carry on public campuses | Texas Government Code, Sec. 411.2031).

My concerns then led me to travel to Oregon this month to attend a speaker session of David Hogg. As the founder of a gun control movement called March for Our Lives and a survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, he told the story of how he grew up in a family that often used guns and how he continues to practice shooting guns in ranges to this day. Throughout it, I was wondering how his gun use and gun control movement align together. 

He then explained his compromise of “responsible gun ownership.” On one side, the shooter of his school, Nikolas Cruz, had legally purchased firearms at 18 after years of public reports of Cruz threatening to shoot up his school, commit suicide, and attack people of color. But at the same time, some homeowners have actually used guns to protect themselves from intruders. Going back to the compromise, I realized that gun usage is not a right. It is a privilege. A privilege for those who have shown an ability to responsibly use it. As a member of David’s movement, I truly found out what my mission was in fighting for gun safety laws - a middle ground between control and freedom.

Now, I know that I may easily be attacked for saying that gun usage isn’t a right because of the second amendment. But the 2nd amendment only stated that a “well regulated militia” could “keep and bear arms.” The shooter of David’s high school fails to have shown to be “well regulated” when, as I said before, he had regularly made school threats and held racist, xenophobic attitudes. Watching debates between NRA members and David’s fellow student survivors, I have seen that even NRA members can agree that not everyone should have the right to own guns, especially with the US lacking cohesive gun control measures to stop the many shooters who get guns legally.

Visiting colleges across major cities of Texas (Dallas, Austin, Houston) as well as in rural areas (ex. Lubbock), I can see this diversity through the vast student populations. Through research, I saw how crime rates and student cultures across these colleges are different. For instance, Texas Tech can have nearly 9 times the amount of crime incidents per 1000 students as UTD. And after randomly surveying college students and faculty through the Reddit pages of these campuses, I noticed how conservative Texas Tech is with firearms and how liberal UTD can be. Knowing that many of my state politicians never went to these colleges has made me curious about how lawmakers can set a standard for guns on these campuses without considering the different crime and academic cultures. 

This is where I believe that we need an optional campus carry policy for all public institutions. Instead of lawmakers setting a standard, it should be the faculty and admin who have actually lived and worked on these campuses for years making the informed safety decision regarding guns on campuses. One college with high crime rates may wish for guns to protect itself against dangerous intruders, while another college with low crime rates may not wish for guns since the threat of accidental discharges and gun suicides is higher than an actual outside mass shooter. Again, this all goes back to the theme of “responsible gun ownership” for the “well-regulated.”

From these epiphanies, I began my nonprofit organization (Students for Optional Campus Carry) this month to advocate for optional campus carry. As my organization reaches out to lawmakers, government committees, and college students/faculty, I aspire to raise awareness of the issue and garner support for my gun law reforms. Seeing how 19 states, both Democratic- and Republican-like, have allowed optional campus carry has also proven to me how bipartisan my proposal can be. It is not about taking all guns away nor favoring one political party. Rather, this is a united fight for responsible gun ownership.

Thank you,
Phillip Pham

Co-Executive of Students for Optional Campus Carry

Works Cited:

"2023 International Speaker Series: David Hogg (Live Stream)." WorldOregon, worldoregon.org/2023_international_speaker_series_david_hogg_live_stream. Accessed 23 Jun 2023.

"GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 411. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS." statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.411.htm. Accessed 23 Jun 2023.

"How Safe Is Texas Tech University? Learn About Campus Crime Statistics." College Factual, 22 Mar 2023, collegefactual.com/colleges/texas-tech-university/student-life/crime/#:~:text=Texas%20Tech%20. Accessed 23 Jun 2023.

"How Safe Is The University of Texas at Dallas? Learn About Campus Crime Statistics." College Factual, 22 Mar 2023, collegefactual.com/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-dallas/student-life/crime/#:~:text=UT%20Dallas%20Overall%20Crime%20Stats&text=The%20University%20of%20Texas%20at%20Dallas%20reported%2086%20safety%2Drelated,student%20body%20population%20is%2029%2C543. Accessed 23 Jun 2023.

"Most Mass Shooters Buy Their Guns Legally; Nashville Shooter Had 7." NCJA, 29 Mar 2023, ncja.org/crimeandjusticenews/most-mass-shooters-buy-their-guns-legally-nashville-shooter-had-7. Accessed 23 Jun 2023.

"The 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." National Constitution Center, constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment. Accessed 23 Jun 2023.