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(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 15, 2010 ) Washington, D.C. - The Brady Campaign today announced that it and Colin Goddard, an Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs at the Brady Campaign, would be active in opposing concealed weapons on campuses in Texas and other states. Over the past two years, Brady and Goddard, who survived being shot four times at Virginia Tech University, have worked to defeat similar proposals in states like Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and Virginia.
Just like it did in 2009, the Texas Legislature in 2011 plans to initiate a high-profile battle over measures to force loaded, hidden guns onto college campuses and universities. David Simpson, a newly elected Texas legislator, has promised to introduce a bill to require colleges and universities to allow people with concealed carry permits to bring guns on campus. Investigations of TexasÂ’ concealed weapon permitting system in the past have shown hundreds of people with felony convictions still holding these permits.
Students, parents, university, law enforcement officials, and the Brady Campaign are ramping up their efforts to defeat the upcoming legislation.
"Gun lobbyists apparently feel they have the votes to pass this dangerous legislation to put guns in the hands of students and faculty, but they have yet to do so in any state. There are good reasons why," said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign. "Twenty-two states have rejected this legislation because itÂ’s reckless and will make our children less safe. We will fight to defeat this legislation in Texas once again."
Goddard, 25, has been on the staff of the Brady Campaign since June of this year. He was shot four times during the Virginia Tech Massacre on April 16, 2007 and recently underwent another surgery to remove bullet fragments.
“I was at the right place at the right time at Virginia Tech - I was in class, where I belonged,” Goddard said. “The problem that day was a gun on campus. Another gun -- or 10 or 20 more guns -- would not have been the solution. I hope smart Texas legislators will again reject this proposal.”
Goddard is the subject of a documentary, Living for 32, that has been accepted for competition in the Short Films category at the Sundance Film Festival. (See www.Livingfor32.com.) In the summer of 2009, as an intern at the Brady Campaign, Goddard took a hidden camera to gun shows across the country, including one in Austin, Texas, to show how easy it is for dangerous people to purchase firearms without a background check.
As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
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