In a move that may either surprise, upset, or gladden individuals, the Texas State Senate voted 25-6 on Monday to allow teachers and school employees to keep firearms in their parked vehicles on school campus.

Proponents of Senate Bill 1942 have argued that it is unreasonable to prevent educators and school staffers from keeping a secured firearm in their vehicle on campus. Currently, under Texas law, other individuals, such as parents dropping their children off at school or private sector employees, hired to handle various issues at the school, can legally keep secured firearms in their vehicles on school campuses.

Essentially, being hired by the Texas school system is the only thing currently preventing teachers and those employed by the schools from exercising that same right while at work.

If anything, it seems odd that those that we most entrust with our children are the only people not entrusted to keep firearms in their private vehicles. Primary author of the bill, State Senator Bryan Hughes, stated:

“You might say that we are now discriminating against our school employees because everybody else can have a gun in their car on campus, but not school employees,” Hughes said. “We ought to remove that limitation on them.”

It seems only reasonable that law-abiding, legally gun owning school employees be allowed to keep their firearms secured in their private vehicles on school grounds, should they choose to do so.

This bill now moves to the Texas State House. If you would like to encourage your Texas State House member to vote in favor of the bill to allow school employees and staffers to keep secured firearms in their private, parked vehicles on school campuses, please contact your representative. You can find your Texas representative’s information here.