Campus Carry Violates Academic Freedom

POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Last week the AAUP filed an amicus brief supporting a challenge to a statute and policy in Texas that compel faculty to permit concealed handguns in college classrooms.  The brief in Glass v. Paxton, filed jointly with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun…

"Campus Carry" and Academic Freedom: The Emerging Reality

BY HANK REICHMAN In 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 11, also known as the “campus carry” law, at a shooting range. The law permits the concealed carry of guns in dorms, classrooms, and buildings at state universities and community colleges, while leaving individual schools some latitude to keep parts of their properties firearm-free, extending…

"Campus Carry" Goes Into Effect in Texas

BY HANK REICHMAN I am old enough to remember August 1, 1966 — fifty years ago today — when a mentally disturbed ex-marine, Charles Whitman, climbed to the top of the tower at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) with an arsenal of high-powered weapons and began shooting.  For 96 terrifying minutes, Whitman fired…

UT Faculty Sue over Campus Carry

  The following is taken from an article by Benjamin Wermund written for the Houston Chronicle: “Jennifer Lynn Glass, Lisa Moore and Mia Carter want a federal judge to block a new Texas law that would allow people to carry concealed handguns throughout college campuses beginning August 1. They are suing Texas Attorney General Ken…

“Campus Carry” and Academic Freedom

BY HANK REICHMAN Last summer Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 11, also known as the “campus carry” law, at a shooting range. The law permits the concealed carry of guns in dorms, classrooms, and buildings at state universities and community colleges, while leaving individual schools some latitude to keep parts of their properties firearm-free, extending…

Joint Statement Opposing “Campus Carry” Laws

November 12, 2015 The horrific shootings at Umpqua Community College in Oregon and subsequent incidents of gun violence elsewhere have prompted renewed efforts to keep our colleges and universities both safe and open. One measure increasingly proposed is legislation—already approved in eight states—that would allow any licensed gun owner to carry concealed weapons on campus.…

Texas Conference of AAUP Opposes "Campus Carry"

This past weekend the Executive Committee of the Texas Conference of the AAUP issued the following statement: The Executive Committee of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors continues to oppose the ‘campus carry’ laws. College campuses are marketplaces of ideas, and a rigorous academic exchange of ideas is chilled by weapons…

The Insanity of "Campus Carry"

After a gunman opened fire last week at an Oregon community college, killing 9 and wounding 10, President Obama bemoaned the “routinization” of our response.  Oregon, it must be noted, is one of seven states that now have provisions allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on public post-secondary campuses.  Gun rights advocates like the NRA…

Statements on Campus-Carry Legislation

In fall 2015, the Executive Council endorsed the MLA’s joining with twenty-eight other scholarly societies to oppose legislation that would facilitate carrying handguns on college campuses. It also issued its own statement on Texas’s campus carry law.   Statement Condemning Texas SB11 (“Campus Carry Law”) The Modern Language Association joins other scholarly organizations in condemning Texas SB11,…