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Texas Lawmakers Want More Security At Schools


The shooting in Houston comes on the same day two state senators pitched a plan to protect students and school personnel.

It's called the Texas School District Security Act, and if passed would help put more police officers on school campuses. But it won't do any good for college students who may come face-to-face with a gunman.

Paola Villarreal walks around the University of Texas campus every night. But Villarreal is quick to admit, she has no idea who else is walking alongside her. "Do you just assume when other people are on campus they belong there?  Yeah, pretty much.  It's like hey what's up, ha, ha, ha," said Villarreal.

But Tuesday's shooting at a college campus in Houston highlights just how vulnerable students can be.

"It's tragic what happened at Lone Star," said State Senator Tommy Williams.

Senator Tommy Williams is one of three state lawmakers working on a plan to help protect faculty and students in public schools across the state.  The Texas School District Security Act would give Texas school districts individual control in hiring police officers to protect school campuses.

"This highlights how difficult the problem is," said Williams. That's because the problem is the bill won't extend protection to college campuses - Like Lone Star.

"The bottom line is if bad people are going to do bad things we may not be able to cover every scenario," said State Senator John Whitmire.

KEYE TV did some digging, and according to UT police, a person can carry a concealed weapon on a college campus as long as they do not enter a building.  There are some exceptions to the law, like at a school sporting event, where carrying a gun is illegal.

"Were in a state of 25 million people, there are a lot of guns," said Whitmire.

And a lot of college kids living in blissful ignorance.

"I always feel safe," said Marisol Cardenas.

Senator Whitmire wants to keeps college students like Cardenas feeling safe. And he believes Tuesday's college campus shooting will spark a much-needed public debate.

"We're going to listen to college professors, students, parents and try to apply the proper resources to those problems," said Whitmire.

But those "proper resources" may already exist.  Both senators believe college police departments do a good job keeping students safe.

By Alex Boyer