University of Texas President Gregory Fenves is continuing his fight against the campus-carry law passed by the Texas legislature last year, stipulating in a new policy that those carrying concealed semi-auto pistols must do so with the chamber empty.
Obviously, carrying a firearm without a round in the chamber dramatically slows the use of that firearm in a self-defense situation. In such an instance, the gun would have to be drawn and the slide cycled to chamber a round before any shot could be fired. If dramatically slowing and complicating a normal defense isn’t bad enough, consider a gun owner who happened to find himself with the use of only one hand. Timely deployment now becomes laughably doubtful—and likely unmasks Fenves’ actual goal from the outset: just take your beating, robbery or worse. The president’s office will be sympathetic after the fact.
Other provisions of the new policy include a ban on open carry, and retaining some gun-free zones on campus such as in dorms, medical facilities, labs and ticketed sporting events.
