Texas Private Colleges Refuses to Follow New State Law Campus Carry

Private colleges in Texas are against on allowing concealed guns inside campus despite the fact that lawmakers already passed the new state law "campus carry". It stated that the public universities are required to allow concealed handguns on campus.  

Over 20 private schools in Texas expressed their disagreement on the said new state law, saying they will not lift gun bans, Lowell Sun reported. The law will have take effect starting on August, which will include Texas' largest private universities with religious affiliation. Texas Christian, Baylor and Southern Methodist universities have also refused to follow.

Kenn Starr, the Baptist university of Baylor president believes it was an unwise public policy. The school also made an announcement that they will not allow guns on campus. According to Yahoo News, the University of Texas campus was okay with it as Greg Fenves, the university president, make an approval of the law.

Upon signing the campus carry law, he said "I do not believe handguns belong on a university campus, so this decision has been the greatest challenge of my presidency to date." Over 300 faculty members created a petition to ban students from carrying handguns. "Gun-Free UT" group which is composed of faculty members, students and staff protesting, "Allowing guns in classrooms will create a threatening atmosphere and chill free speech in academics."

However, according to the law, Universities has the authority to put rules or designated "gun-free-zones", Washington Post reported. Fenves says, he was also disagreeing on allowing guns on campus, however, he was forced to sign the law. He explained, he has obligation to uphold the law. On his written rules, concealed guns will be allowed in common areas, visiting family members of the students on dorms as well as staffs working on dorms.

Previous law generally banned concealed handguns from Texas' public and private universities. That changed last year, when lawmakers passed the "campus carry". It is a law that requires public universities to allow concealed handgun license holders to bring their weapons into campus buildings and classrooms.

Texas was among at least 20 states that will follow such form of campus carry. But only a few make it a defined right in state law like Texas does. The law faced strong objections from public higher education officials, law enforcement, students and faculty across the state.

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Texas University, Texas Private Colleges, campus carry law, Greg Fenves, Gun-Free UT

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