Anti-Gun Texas Professor Wears Body Armor in Class to Protest Campus-Carry

A Texas community college professor in San Antonio arrived at class on the first day of a new law allowing concealed carry of handguns wearing protective body armor.

San Antonio College Professor Charles K. Smith, a physical geography teacher, expressed his displeasure about Texas’ new campus carry law that went into effect for community colleges on August 1 by wearing a bulletproof vest and combat helmet, Guns magazine reported.

Governor Greg Abbott signed two pro-gun bills into law in June 2015, Breitbart Texas reported. The first allowed for open carry of handguns by licensed citizens. The second bill provided for concealed carry of handguns by licensed citizens on college campuses. The open carry went into effect for public four-year colleges and universities on August 1, 2016, and for community colleges a year later.

The professor apparently believes he is in more danger from a student who has passed a handgun safety class and a criminal background check than from people illegally carrying guns.

“I realize students were carrying guns on campus illegally, but now it’s legal to do so,” Smith expressed to a San Antonio reporter. “It increases the chances of something happening.”

Smith has a ranking of 3.4 out of five at ratemyprofessor.com where one alleged student rated him as a one and wrote, “Horrible individual. He apparently feels so unsafe around his students that he feels the need to wear bullet proof garb to protect him from the new campus carry laws. Dont (sic) take him if you respect your rights as an American. Cuz he obviously doesnt (sic).”

Others said his class is boring while others said it is “easy” because of how he tests.

A Facebook post by Hot Mustard garnered more than 1,100 shares, nearly 500 reactions, and over 400 comments.

John Svitil wrote, “I’m not going to blast or denigrate this professor. Everybody has the right to make an ass out of themselves. His logic is way off. In the article, he basically condoned illegal carrying of firearms but is against legal carry. His thinking is ass backwards. Maybe he should start walking the streets in this garb since Texas allows CCW.”

Rickey Gile wrote, “If youre (sic) that big of a puss, quit your job. “(U)sed to be if when they were mad at me and wanted to shoot me, they had to go home and get a gun.” (D)ude, they have always had them, against the rules or not. N(o)w that it is ok for the good guys to carry, be sure to thank one of them for saving your ass one day.”

And Jason Rose posted, “Someone should put some plates in that carrier. If you’re gonna titty baby, titty baby hard.”

In February, the Houston Chronicle reported three “gun discharge” incidents on college campuses during the fall semester. Only one of those appears to have involved a person licensed to carry.

In that incident, a Tarlton State University student accidentally discharged a weapon in a dorm room. The incident resulted in minor property damage and no injuries.

An incident at Texas Tech University where a person fired a gun three times on campus also left no one injured and resulted in no property damage. The Houston newspaper did not report that shooter to be a licensed individual.

The third incident is also not reported to be carried out by a licensed individual. This incident involved a University of Houston student who apparently committed suicide at the Hilton hotel on campus.

The Houston newspaper reported that concerns about the campus carry law have faded following the initial days the law went into effect. “(It) was, for the most part, a non-event,”  John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System told the reporter. “Why people thought eligible students who act responsibly in the community would act irresponsibly on campus was beyond me.”

One University of Texas professor, Mark Sheridan, decided to move his individual meetings with students to a bar because Texas does not allow handguns to be carried into an establishment that sells liquor as its primary revenue source. “If I want to work at a place that bans guns,” Sheridan said, “the bar seems like the safest bet for me.” A local bar manager apparently brought the idea to the professor.