Last month I reprinted Susan Bankston’s proposal that the legislature allow citizens to carry firearms in the House and Senate Galleries. Yesterday the Chronicle had letters from five readers opposing Rep. Jeff Wentworth’s campus concealed-carry gun bill, here’s a sampling..

Arming students on college campuses is an idea so thoroughly loathsome that it would not deserve comment except that this is Texas and the idea has the support of a sizable number of state legislators (“Campus guns bill gaining in House,” Page A1, Friday). If the sponsors believe their bill will have a deterrent effect making campuses safer, then I challenge them to apply the logic to their own environment and allow citizens with licenses to bring concealed handguns into theHouse and Senate galleries. Of course they will not.

— Thomas Fowler, Lake Jackson

I have a suggestion for the Legislature. I firmly believe that the proposed legislation to allow concealed weapons in the classrooms should include allowing concealed weapons in all the rooms in the state Capitol building, including when the Legislature is in session. This would force the legislators to consider the seriousness of this bill.

— James E. Dimmett, Humble

Maybe we need to deal with some of the lobbyists for the gun folks who coax our legislators into passing such “bills of death.” All their yummy, fancy dinners, lunches and trips are not worth even one innocent life. The “bad guys” will always get their weapons, but let’s not make it too easy for nut cases, who will be with us forever.
Pray, folks, pray.

— Jean McClintic, Houston

The Texas Legislature needs to hear that allowing concealed guns on college campuses is a very bad idea. Similar proposals have failed in 19 other states. Young men and easy access to guns are a bad mix that is likely to lead to violence.
College campus police patrols are all that students need for security.

— Jimmy Dunne, Houston

If the Legislature wants to force colleges to allow guns on campuses, they should add an amendment to allow firearms in the Texas Capitol. Then people in the galleries could defend themselves from the bad senators and representatives in the Legislature.

— Wayne Derrick, Houston

And Charles Kuffner in offthekuff.com writes “I still can't read about it without thinking of something Molly Ivins wrote way back when the concealed-carry law was being debated. She suggested that everyone who was carrying be required to wear a propeller beanie so the rest of us would know who we're dealing with.”

Most college administrators, faculty and students oppose this bill. The police chief at one local college risked his job by sending a letter to the whole community urging all to contact their legislators and make their opposition known. Tell them that if they want to extend the concealed carry law that they should start be extending it into the State House and Senate Galleries and see how they like it. As Jean McClintic wrote, “nut cases will be with us forever.”