UTEP holds first concealed carry task force town hall

Like it or not, guns are coming to the UTEP campus.

In less than 10 months, it will be legal for trained, concealed carry license holders to possess a handgun at the university. In preparation, UTEP is holding several campus concealed carry task force town hall meetings, designed to address concerns and make recommendations to the University of Texas system board of regents.

“You can’t take (guns) into bars, there’s a reason. You can’t take them into churches, there’s a reason,” UTEP chemistry professor Dr. Keith Pannell said. “What’s the difference between that and the university of higher education? There are a lot of people under great pressure. If they’re going to permit concealed guns on campus, I think the people who work on campus should have a bigger say than the people who work in Austin.”

Pannell, worried his office will not be off-limits to guns, would like to see more faculty representation on the task force.

“It seems to me that we have a unique vantage point,” Pannell said, “a unique set of attitudes and concerns that should be expressed.”

Although few students were in attendance, unlike at a protest earlier in the week at UTEP, some did voice concerns about guns in the dorms.

“I really wanted to see what more students felt about the issue,” said Moises Blankenship, a student who lives in Miner Village. “At least from the people I’ve talked to that are in the residence halls, if we did have areas designated areas where concealed carriers could be and non-concealed carriers would be at.”

UTEP student Daniel Barnhorst said he plans to carry a gun on campus come Aug. 1. ABC-7 asked him if he would use it if he had to.

“Honestly, I couldn’t say,” Barnhorst said. “I’ve never been in a situation where i’ve ever been shot at or had to shoot at someone.”

Gary Edens, UTEP’s vice president of student affairs, said it’s not the university’s job to debate the law.

“Our job is to implement the law the state of Texas is putting in front of us on Aug. 1,” Edens said. “We’re going to do everything we can to implement a law we can feel comfortable about here at the university.”

Another town hall with the task force is scheduled for noon Wednesday, also at UTEP’s Union Cinema. There is also one scheduled for Oct. 28 at the Tomas Rivera Conference Center. The hope is that more students will participate.