FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 03/06/2019

CONTACT:
Michael Newbern, Assistant Director of Public Relations, SCC: michael.newbern@concealedcampus.org

Texas Students for Concealed Carry Endorses Texas HB 316/SB 1573

AUSTIN, TEXAS – As in 2017, the Texas chapter of Students for Concealed Carry is proud to support legislation "relating
to a public awareness campaign on firearm safety and suicide prevention." Texas House Bill 316, by Representative
Donna Howard (D-Austin), and Texas Senate Bill 1573, by Senator Carol Alvarado (D-Houston), would direct the Texas
Department of Public Safety to design and implement a public awareness campaign focused on suicide prevention, the
safe handling and storage of firearms, and prevention of firearm accidents involving children. The program would be
funded via gifts, grants, or donations.

Because this initiative would address issues of paramount concern to parties on both sides of the campus-carry debate,
Texas SCC believes that HB 316/SB 1573 would further the organization's goal of ensuring that vetted, licensed adults
are able to safely and legally defend themselves on college campuses. Furthermore, Texas SCC believes that the bill's
fiscally responsible funding model adequately addresses any concerns the organization's members might have about
supporting a public awareness campaign.

SCC Assistant Director of Public Relations Michael Newbern commented, "As political activists, we must be careful not to
place more emphasis on the people and the personalities than on the policy. We should judge a bill by the text on the
page, not by the author’s ranking on a political scorecard. "

In 2017, then-SCC Southwest Regional Director Brian Bensimon offered this summation of SCC’s position: "Too often,
gun-control activists mistake gun-control measures for gun-safety measures, and gun-rights activists mistake gun-safety
measures for gun-control measures. From our standpoint, this is a genuine gun-safety measure that would only make
campus carry safer and make the public more comfortable with licensed concealed carry in general. We see [this
legislation] as a win for everyone involved."

###

ABOUT STUDENTS FOR CONCEALED CARRY — Students for Concealed Carry (SCC) is a national, non-partisan, grassroots
organization comprising college students, faculty, staff, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued
concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that
current laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCC is not affiliated with the NRA or any other organization. For
more information on SCC, visit ConcealedCampus.org or Facebook.com/ConcealedCampus.

RELATED:

"Federal appeals court upholds Texas campus carry law": https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/16/appeals-court-

rejects-texas-campus-carry-lawsuit/

"Student Activists Must Learn to Be Students of the Issues They Address":

http://concealedcampus.org/2018/08/student-activists-must-learn-to-be-students-of-the-issues-they-address/

"Texas’ Campus Carry Law Turns Two": http://concealedcampus.org/2018/07/texas-campus-carry-law-turns-two/

"Texas Legislative Candidate/Former Professor Omits Important Facts": https://www.ammoland.com/2018/07/texas-

legislative-candidate-former-professor-omits-important-facts/#axzz5M150Mn96
"Everytown for Gun Safety Continues to Ignore the Facts": http://concealedcampus.org/2018/05/everytown-for-gun-
safety-continues-to-ignore-the-facts/

"Students For Concealed Carry Lash Out At Repeated Claims Of Astroturf": https://bearingarms.com/tom-
k/2018/04/18/students-concealed-carry-lash-repeated-claims-astroturf/

SCC's Amicus Brief in Glass v. Paxton (U.S. Fifth Circuit): https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/scc-sccf-file-amicus-

brief-u-texas-professors-campus-carry-suit/#axzz5CzmeJ49g

"What ‘Rolling Stone’ Got Wrong About the 'Fight Over Guns on Campus'": http://concealedcampus.org/2017/03/what-
rolling-stone-got-wrong-about-the-fight-over-guns-on-campus/

"Johns Hopkins Report on Campus Carry Is Seriously Flawed": http://concealedcampus.org/2016/11/johns-hopkins-

report-on-campus-carry-is-seriously-flawed/

"A Refresher on the Case for Campus Carry in Texas": http://concealedcampus.org/2016/05/a-refresher-on-the-case-

for-campus-carry-in-texas/

SCC’s Oct. 2, 2015 – Aug. 1, 2017, Texas press releases and op-eds:
https://www.scribd.com/document/319141232/Texas-Students-for-Concealed-Carry-Campus-Carry-Press-Releases-Op-
Eds-Oct-2-2015-Aug-1-2017

SCC's 2015 Texas legislative handout (includes Dec. 9 - May 22, 2015, press releases and op-eds):
https://www.scribd.com/document/255815743/SCC-s-2015-Texas-Legislative-Handout