UT Shooting Reignites Debate Over Guns on Campus

Almost as quickly as a lone gunman peppered the University of Texas campus with rifle fire Tuesday, a public debate reignited over whether concealed handguns should be allowed on university campuses.

Coincidentally, the high-profile shooting occurred just hours before John Lott, a nationally known author and advocate of concealed-weapons laws, was to speak at UT about the failure of gun control laws. And amid the growing debate emerged this fact: Tuesday's gunman was legally allowed to carry his loaded AK-47 on sidewalks around campus, and only broke the law when he fired it and carried it into a campus building, according to authorities.

Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday that he supports allowing properly licensed students to carry concealed weapons on campus; his challenger, Bill White, said he favors letting each campus decide whether to ban licensed guns.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican who co-sponsored a bill in 2009 that would have lifted the ban on concealed weapons on college campuses, said he will sign on to another try when the Legislature convenes in January.

Read Full Story at Statesman.com