Three professors at the University of Texas at Austin are suing the institution over its response to the state’s new campus carry law, which explicitly permits licensed, concealed weapons on campus. The law is supposed to go into effect Aug. 1 on public university campuses in the state, and a year later at community colleges.
Specifically, the professors seek the right to ban guns from their classrooms -- something the university has maintained would put it out of compliance with the new law. The professors, who argue that both state law and university policies are vague on that point, on Friday were granted a hearing for a preliminary injunction on having to allow weapons in class. It’s scheduled for early next month. Fall classes resume at the end of August.
The campus carry law allows private colleges and universities in Texas to opt out entirely, and many have. Public institutions must establish their own “reasonable” rules and regulations about concealed weapons, but can’t “generally prohibit” guns across broad swaths of campus. The plaintiffs challenge interpretations of the law -- namely Austin’s -- that assert the general prohibition ban applies to individual professors’ classrooms.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/19/three-professors-sue-ut-austin-over-right-ban-guns-their-classrooms