Coastal Bend Community College District
Policy on Concealed Carry
Policy Statement
The Coastal Bend College District (the
College) is committed to providing a safe environment for students, employees,
district affiliates, vendors, and visitors while at the same time respecting
the right of individuals licensed by the State of Texas to carry a
handgun. Individuals licensed to carry may
do so on our campuses and sites except in locations and at activities
prohibited by law or policy. The
carrying of any handgun by an unlicensed person is not permitted in any place
owned or operated by the District. In
addition the Texas Penal Code, Section 46.035 (a-1) strictly prohibits license holders from
Open Carry of a handgun at institutions of higher education including Coastal
Bend College, therefore Open Carry issues are not the subject of this policy.
Reason for Policy
Texas Government Code Section 411.2031 entitles handgun license holders (License
Holders) to carry concealed handguns on the campus of an institution of higher
learning. This section of the Texas
Government Code also authorizes the
President of the College to enact reasonable rules and regulations regarding
the concealed carry of handguns on College sites, so long as the rules do not
generally prohibit or have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders
from carrying concealed handguns at our sites.
This policy memorializes the rules and regulations enacted by the
President regarding the carrying of concealed handguns by license holders on
Coastal Bend College sites or upon College owned and/or operated property.
Scope & Audience
This policy shall apply to all students,
employees, district affiliates, vendors, and visitors of the College while on
sites or College owned or operated property. This article does not apply to commissioned peace officers as defined in Texas Code of Criminal Procedures,Article 2.12, or to
Federal law enforcement officers and agents authorized to carry a handgun
pursuant to applicable federal statutes, whether on or off duty.
Definitions (specific to this policy)
Campus
or Site:
All land and buildings owned or leased
by Coastal Bend College.
Concealed
Carry:
The Texas Department of Public Safety
defines a concealed handgun as a handgun not openly discernable to the ordinary
observation of a reasonable person.
Handgun
or Pistol:
A handgun, also described as a pistol,
is any firearm that is designed, made, or adapted to be fired with one
hand. This characteristic differentiates
handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and
shotguns (which usually can be braced against the shoulder). The most common handguns carried by license
holders are semi-automatic pistols and revolvers.
Formal
Hearing:
A formal hearing is a meeting or other
proceeding in which a party is pursuing a complaint, charge, grievance, appeal
or other administrative process. A hearing officer, administrative officer,
committee, hearing panel, or similar administrative body, either during or
subsequent to the hearing decides the outcome or makes recommendations through
official process.
“Institution
of higher education” have the meaning as assigned by Section 61.003, Education
Code.
Law
Enforcement Officer:
Any person described in Texas Code of Criminal Procedures,Article 2.12, that is vested
with the statutory authority to enforce criminal laws and make arrests and who
are licensed Texas Peace Officers duly commissioned by the Texas Commission on
Law Enforcement (TCOLE) or under the laws of the United States and employed or commissioned as a Peace
Officer with a TCOLE recognized law enforcement agency.
License
Holder:
A person licensed to carry a handgun under
Chapter 411 of the Texas Government Code.
“On
or about their person”:
Means
a person licensed to carry a handgun must carry a handgun in a manner that the
handgun is close enough to the license holder that he or she can reach it
without materially changing position.
This would include “book bags” under the direction control and
possession of the license holder.
Revolver:
A revolver is a repeating handgun which
has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel
for firing.
Semi-automatic
Pistol:
A semi-automatic pistol uses the energy
of the fired cartridge to cycle the action of the firearm and advance the next
available cartridge into a position for firing.
One round fires each time the trigger of the semi-automatic is pulled,
and it uses a magazine to story and feed cartridges into the chamber.
Website
Responsibilities & Procedures
General Safety
TexasPenal Code, Section 46.035(a)(1) provides
that a license holder may not carry a partially or wholly visible handgun on
the premises of any college or university including roadways, driveways,
street, sidewalk or walkway, or parking lot or garage. License holders who carry a handgun onto any
CBC site otherwise not excluded, must carry it concealed and on or about their
person at all times or secure the handgun in a locked privately owned or leased
motor vehicle.
The
concealed carry of handguns by license holders is prohibited in areas for which
state or federal law, licensing requirements, or contracts require exclusion
solely at the discretion of the state or federal government, or are required by
a campus accrediting authority. Where appropriate, signage will conform to the
overriding federal or state law requirements. Otherwise, notice conforming to
Texas Penal Code, Section 30.06 will be provided.
TexasGovernment, Subchapter H, Section 411.188.4: does not require the College to provide
handgun storage for license holders. Under Texas law license holders must take a
training class and license holders are taught proper handgun storage
principles. It is the responsibility of a license holder to properly carry and
store the handgun in a safe manner.
A
license holder who carries a handgun on campus must conform to all state laws
concerning conceal carry. State law
requires the handgun to be concealed in a holster that completely covers the
trigger and entire trigger guard area.
The holster must have sufficient tension or grip on the handgun to
retain it in the holster even when subjected to unexpected jostling.
Site storage for weapons will not
be provided by Coastal Bend College. The
Texas Government Code does not require a college or university to provide
storage for firearms. The Texas Government Code requires a handgun be stored in
a manner that a child would not be at risk of accidental injury. Providing storage increases the time and
frequency spent handling a firearm, thus increasing the risk of accidental
discharges, ability for others to identify license holders, and possibility of
theft of firearms as storage locations would be generally well-known. Existing
lockers, cabinets, closets and furnishings are property of CBC and do not meet
the definition of providing safe and secure storage for handguns.
HANDGUN
EXCLUSION ZONES
Under
the discretion of the President, certain specific areas may be excluded from
areas otherwise open to a license holder, an ability granted to university and
college presidents by the Texas Government Code.
The
Coastal Bend College President has established such areas based upon current
Texas law. Each section of applicable law is linked to each exclusion zone to
provide statutory authority.
Gun-exclusion zones created by state
law as well as those created by this policy may sometimes comprise only a
portion of a building. In some instances, it may not be feasible to exclude
concealed handguns only from the designated exclusion zones. The following
factors and principles will govern the implementation of these rules and
regulations in those buildings in which some, but not all parts are designated
as exclusion zones.
Governing factors:
The percentage of assignable space or rooms in a building
that are designated as exclusion zones.
The extent to which the area(s) designated as exclusion
zones are segregable from other areas of the building.
The extent to which use of the building, and hence its
status as an exclusion zone, varies from day-to-day or week-to-week.
Governing principles:
If a small number of rooms or a small fraction of assignable
space in a building is subject to exclusion, only the rooms or areas that
qualify for exclusion should be excluded. Appropriate signage must be posted
for excluded rooms or areas.
If a significant fraction of the total building in terms of
number of rooms or assignable space is subject to exclusion, or if the
excludable space is not segregable from other space, then as a matter
of practicality, the whole building will be excluded. Appropriate signage must
be posted for any such building.
6. Exclusion Zones for Coastal Bend College
sites are listed in attachment A
Housing
The following rules and exceptions apply to the concealed
carry of handguns for Benton Hall and the CBC Apartments.
For Benton Hall, the carrying of a
concealed handgun by a license holder is not permitted in any area other that
in common areas, the parking area, and sidewalks.
- A resident’s family member who
is a license holder may carry on or about their person while visiting.
Residents are also responsible for ensuring their guests comply with all
rules and regulations contained in this policy.
- Staff members whose employment
responsibilities require them to be in Benton Hall and are license holders
are permitted to carry a concealed handgun on or about their person while
present at Benton Hall for business purposes.
- A legal resident of the CBC
Apartments or their guest(s).
License holders who reside in Benton
Hall are not permitted to store a handgun inside their room and must store
their handguns in a locked, privately-owned or leased motor vehicle. License
holders are also responsible for ensuring their guests comply with all rules
and regulations.
Housing contracts of Coastal Bend
College provide that a violation of any College rule regarding the carrying or
storage of firearms is grounds for termination of the housing contract.
Employees
Except
as may be noted above, employees who are License Holders will enjoy commiserative
concealed handgun rights, but may be limited by job description if there is a
substantial interference with the employee’s assigned duties as determined by
their supervisor.
1. Staff
who are License Holders may conceal carry in CBC classrooms, including dual
enrollment classes held on CBC sites, but this right does not apply to dual
enrollment classes held on the premises of an Independent School District.
2. Employees are prohibited from
carriage of a handgun into any employee evaluation, counseling, or disciplinary
meeting in which the employee is the subject of the counseling or a
disciplinary action.
3.
Employees and volunteers who work in a campus program for minors must, as a
condition of their participation, agree not to carry a concealed handgun on the
grounds or in buildings where the program is conducted. Parents of attendees
must also agree, as a condition of their child’s participation, not to carry a
concealed handgun on the grounds or in buildings where the program is conducted.
Appropriate Signage
Appropriate notice and signage, both permanent and
situational, will be provided by the College as required by Texas law.