The American state of Texas joined eight other states this week in giving individuals a right to bring guns to college classrooms. The Texas law gives people 21 and older permission to carry concealed handguns into buildings at state-financed colleges. To do so, the person needs a government permit that requires training in safe gun use. The law took effect on the same day the University of Texas marked the 50th anniversary of the first mass shooting at an American college campus. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman used a gun to shoot at people from high atop the university’s clock tower. Seventeen people lost their lives, and many more were injured. One of the first people shot and injured was Claire Wilson. She was pregnant and lost her baby. The gunman killed her boyfriend, Tom Eckman, in the attack. Today, Wilson uses the name Claire Wilson James.
