Last Friday, Tarleton State University Student Body President Jay Johnson made the decision to veto bill S-09-15, otherwise known as the Conceal and Carry Bill. Student opinion of the veto has been mixed, with some bemoaning Johnson for what they perceive to be a failure to represent the wants of students, and other praising him for taking initiative and shutting down a potentially dangerous bill. Johnson responded to a JTAC News inquiry early this week regarding his decision, and also addressed it in his official veto letter to the Executive branch and Student Congress.

Safety concerns

In his veto letter, Johnson listed three key reasons for this move. The first had to do with his doubts about whether the legislation would be beneficial to student welfare (a debate many students have taken sides in).

“The SGA Constitution states that Student Government ‘shall recommend policy to the university administration in regards to the issues that affect student welfare,’” said Johnson. “As Student Body President I have made this decision to uphold my duty to ensure student welfare and safety.”

Rough writing?

Johnson also noted that the bill, which was sponsored by Student Senators Jamee Bell, Jessica Eastman, Logan McCombs and John Rose, did not meet the high standard expected of SGA legislation.

“The legislation is not of the high caliber that I have grown to expect of student government in that it contains opinionated statements and misinformation,” said Johnson. “I do not feel this bill would reflect well on SGA’s student leaders if it were to progress further.”

Barely skating by

The bill passed through Student Senate with a 12-9 vote – a slim margin for such a controversial piece of legislation.

“The legislation passed 12 in favor to 9 against in Student Senate,” said Johnson, “a close vote that I feel does not constitute moving forward with a bill that has such an impact on all walks of campus life.”

Overturning the veto

In order to override a presidential veto, there must be a majority vote of 2/3 in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The first meeting following the announcement of the veto was a House meeting on April 1, during which a motion was made to override the veto.

Despite originally passing through the House with a 43-11 vote, Wednesday’s attempt to push the bill through showed a different tide of opinions.

“After the override was brought up and the House again discussed the bill, discussion was ended and the House voted 7 in favor of overriding the veto and 46 against,” said Johnson.

Students speak out

This week, students took to social media to voice their thoughts (or angry, all-caps frustration) about Johnson’s veto. A post on JTAC News received dozens of comments from students, faculty and spectators from both sides of the debate. Some defended Johnson:

“Finally, someone with some common sense. Thank you, Jay!” –Seth Williams

“This was the right decision. Weapons don’t have a place in an educational institution. Even if nothing happened, the amount of tension it would create would have a huge impact in the classroom. I would not feel comfortable leading or participating in a discussion.” – Tiana Blackmon

“Johnson has every right to veto a bill. It just means he wants more information, more research to be presented over the bill before it passes again. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he is against what the student body wants. In fact, we should be grateful to have a president who cares about Tarleton that much to ensure we are making the right decision.” –Claire Wilkison

Others, however, sang a different tune:

“It’s about being prepared rather than being a possible victim. No one carrying is wanting to harm the people around them they want to protect everyone. It’s concealed carry so you wouldn’t even know.” –Shayd Warr

“You might think that weapons have no place in an educational institution, but it’s the people that don’t care about what the law says [that] will bring a weapon on campus whenever they want to shoot innocent people.” –Joseph Wilson

“College, or an “educational” setting, is no place for sexual attacks or scenarios that leave a person completely defenseless.” –Bryson Wolf

The controversial Conceal and Carry bill is dead for now. However, we may not have heard the last of this issue, because…

It’s not over just yet

Since the legislation failed to receive a majority vote in House, it will not be presented again to Senate next week.

“Based on student input, a major reason the House voted in the manner they did was based on the bill itself, rather than the issue of Conceal and Carry on Campus,” Johnson said. “In this regard, there may likely be a different bill pertaining to Campus Carry that alleviates some of the issues with the initial bill. If presented, this legislation will first be read to Student Senate on April 15 and the Student House of Representatives on April 22.”