New University of Texas System Chancellor Admiral (Ret.) William McRaven has staked out positions that will likely win him no friends in the Tea Party dominated Texas Legislature.  McRaven supports the Dream Act which provides in state tuition rates to college bound students who were brought here illegally as children. The act currently benefits about 21,000 students at no real cost to the state.  McRaven also vehemently opposes concealed carry on campus. Texas A&M President  Michael Young has also voiced support for the Dream Act stating that Texas should “educated everyone” who plans on staying in the state, but has remained silent regarding packing heat on campus.   The San Angelo Times reports that while legislators have tremendous respect for McRaven and his service to our country, that respect does not translate into support for his positions.

In rapid-fire succession, the former Navy SEAL came out against concealed handguns on campus — saying it would make classrooms “less safe” — and supported allowing universities to set their own tuition rates. He also opposes repealing a 2001 state law that grants in-state tuition rates to some immigrants living in Texas but without legal U.S. residency, calling it a “moral obligation.”

But how much clout he’ll have in swaying lawmakers on those issues remains unclear. Republican Sen. Konni Burton, a firebrand tea-party favorite, was perhaps most indicative of potential pushback when she recently challenged McRaven’s position that concealed weapons would stifle free speech in universities. Burton called that a false argument and said the right to bear arms was “granted by God.”

When asked Tuesday about potential skirmishes, McRaven— who led the U.S. Special Operations Command before taking the university job — told The Associated Press: “All I know is I have to take a position on these issues, and I have to take a position as an educator.”

“I enjoy the dialogue,” he added. “This is the best thing about our democracy.”

I guess Red missed that Sunday where we learned about God giving us the right to bear arms or Jesus packing a 38 Special at the Sermon on the Mount.  McRaven appears to be too much of a diplomat and gentleman to respond to the brilliant theological arguments of noted religious scholars such as Sen. Burton.