How was Students for Concealed Carry started?

SCC was formed by Chris Brown, a political science student from The University of North Texas, immediately after the Virginia Tech shootings. Though the issue of college campuses being off-limits to concealed carry was something that had long irked concealed carry permit holders, it took a tragedy like the Virginia Tech massacre to rally so many like minded people to this one cause. Immediately after the horrific tragedies at Virginia Tech, a Website was built out of a dorm room, ConcealedCampus.com, and a new group emerged on facebook, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. Today, SCC has over 36,000 members and over 350 established chapters on college campuses and universities.

Why isn’t the campus police force enough to keep campuses safe?

The Virginia Tech shootings clearly showed that a deranged gunman can do a great deal of damage in just the few minutes it takes campus police to arrive on the scene. Campus police simply cannot be dispatched in time to stop a madman from taking innocent lives. Only the people at the scene when the shooting starts–the potential victims–have the potential to stop such a shooting rampage before it turns into a bloodbath.

Shouldn’t people receive training before carrying concealed handguns?

In most states CHL/CCW holders have been educated and tested on both the basic rules of gun safety and the laws pertaining to carrying a concealed handgun, threatening to use deadly force, and using deadly force. They have also passed proficiency (shooting) test at a firing range.

Can anyone be licensed to carry a handgun?

No. Most states have strict rules on who can be issued a CHL.

For example, for a person to receive a concealed handgun license in Texas, he or she must:

  • Be 21 years of age (18 for members or veterans of the U.S. armed forces).
  • Not have any felony convictions or pending felony charges.
  • Not have been adjudicated (other than a conviction) of having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law in the grade of a felony, within the past ten years.
  • Not have any misdemeanor family violence convictions or pending family violence charges.
  • Not have any class “A” or “B” misdemeanor convictions within the past five years or any pending class “A” or “B” misdemeanor charges (class “A” and “B”misdemeanors include a range of crimes such as theft totaling less than $500 and driving while intoxicated).
  • Not have any class “C” misdemeanor convictions of “disorderly conduct” within the past five years or any pending “disorderly conduct” charges (“disorderlyconduct includes minor infractions ranging from fighting to making an obscene gesture in traffic).
  • Not be a fugitive from justice.
  • Not be subject to a court protective order or restraining order.
  • Not be delinquent in child support payments.
  • Not be delinquent in taxes owed to the State of Texas. 
  • Not be chemically dependent (have a history of drug/alcohol treatment or be a known drug user or alcoholic).
  • Not have been diagnosed by a physician as suffering from a major psychiatric disorder. 
  • Not have been involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric problems. 
  • Be capable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun.
  • Be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.
  • Be legally allowed to purchase a handgun, under state and federal law.
  • Attend a 4- to 6-hour (not counting range time) training course including instruction on state laws pertaining to weapons and the use or threatened use of deadly force; nonviolent dispute resolution; handgun use, proficiency, and safety;and proper storage practices for handguns. 
  • Pass a written test over the material covered in the training course. 
  • Pass a 50-round shooting test that meets all but one of the minimum annual proficiency requirements for Texas law enforcement officers (the one exception being that officers must also complete a timed reload).
  • Pass fingerprint and background checks conducted by both the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

What about Vermont and Alaska, where a person can legally carry a concealed handgun without being licensed to do so?

SCC only advocates the legalization of CONCEALED carry by LICENSED individuals on COLLEGE campuses. SCC has no official position on unlicensed concealed carry, open carry, or concealed carry on the campuses of primary or secondary schools.

State chapters such as those in Alaska and Vermont may choose to officially support unlicensed concealed carry on campus but it is not the official policy of SCC as a whole. We realize that all states have their own unique culture and each have their own view of what is in their best self-interest. If the states of Alaska or Vermont were to allow concealed carry on campus without requiring a license, then that is what they have chosen to be the best course of action. It is not a position which we as a national organization advocate but one in which we would support.

What is a CHL, CHP, CCW, CCP?

A CHL is a Concealed Handgun License. A CCW is a Concealed Carry Weapons permit. Though different states chose to use one term or the other, they are effectively the same thing. These licenses are usually issued by the state to those who meet the age requirement, take a class, pass a written test and a shooting test, pass state and federal fingerprint and background checks, and pay a fee.

Do you advocate every student and teacher carrying handguns on campus?

No, we simply want those individuals–age twenty-one and above, in most states–who possess valid concealed handgun licenses/concealed carry weapons permits to be afforded the same right to carry on college campuses that they are currently afforded virtually everywhere else.